Justice x Frank Castle
by kl4uss
Summary: Amelia Mansfield is a new up and coming lawyer in New York in her very own law firm, M.M.N. Associates with her two best friends, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson. However, with the news of a vigilante named the Devil's of Hell's Kitchen appears, everything Amelia tried to keep hidden comes out. What is Amelia hiding? Who is the vigilante? Nobody is ever really safe in Hell's Kitchen.
1. Info

Amelia Mansfield had just graduated from Columbia Law School and is now an up and coming lawyer in her very own firm, M.M.N Associates, with her two best friends; Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson.

Everything in New York is just starting to get back to normal after the alien invasion that destroyed half of the state because of the Asgardian God; Loki.

However, with the news of a vigilante named the Devil of Hell's Kitchen appears, everything Amelia has tried to keep hidden suddenly comes out.

What is Amelia Mansfield hiding?

Who is this vigilante that is trying to clean up the city?

Nobody is ever safe when they live in the dangerous infested city of Hell's Kitchen.

You never know who from your past will come popping up. 


	2. Chapter 1

The loud sound of her dog barking and the strong voice of Olivia Benson was the first thing the brunette woman, Amelia Mansfield, heard as she woke up from her deep surprisingly, dreamless sleep. She let out a lengthy yawn before she huffed as she knew she wasn't going to able to get anymore sleep with her personal alarm clock that came in the form of her three month old Siberian Husky.

"Give me a minute, Buck," Amelia mumbled to her dog as she threw the covers off of her face and twirled her body to the side, so she was now facing her wooden bedside table. She sighed quietly when she noticed the silver chain that held two rings. One was a greenish blue color that was a family ring from her past life, and the other one was a simple engagement ring from her dead fiance that she had gotten during her tour in Afghanistan over ten years ago.

However, that part of her life was all in the past. She changed her ways four years ago and got her life on a good track, thanks to the one and only Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff. "What time is it?" Amelia questioned out loud as she moved her eyes towards the ceiling instead of looking at the two things that connected her to her old life.

"It is nine twenty five in the morning, Ms. Mansfield," the familiar voice of the artificial intelligence, J.A.R.V.I.S., answered with his calming but loud tone.

Amelia's green eyes instantly widened at the answer she received before she swiftly threw the covers off of her body and jumped right out of the bed while she exclaimed under her breath, "no, no, no. I can't be late today!"

Amelia had barely shoved her loosely fitted gray shorts down her muscular thighs and slipped on a black knee length pencil skirt before she heard her cell phone ringing loudly throughout her bedroom. Amelia quickly rushed towards her bed while she zipped up her skirt before she grabbed the device and slid right on the touch screen as she already knew who was calling her. "Fog, I swear I'm on my way," Amelia promised as she rushed over to her dresser and slipped on her rose gold Rolex that she had gotten as a graduation present when she had finished Columbia Law School.

"Are you sure about that?" Foggy Nelson questioned with amusement in his voice, "if that is true, then why do I hear the Law and Order theme song and your dog barking?"

Amelia rolled her eyes at the brunette on the phone before she glanced over at her husky, who was staring at her while he barked. The brunette woman sighed lightly before she headed towards the kitchen with her loyal companion following closely behind her. "Alright, I'm a little late," Amelia confessed as she held her cell phone between her right shoulder and ear while she poured food into the small red bowl for her very hungry and spoiled dog.

"I swear, between you and Matt, I don't know how you guys have ever survived life," Foggy commented with a small chuckle.

Once Amelia had fed her dog, Bucky, she fast walked back into her bedroom and made her way towards her large walk-in closet. She took off the blue New York Yankees shirt and switched it for a blue silk blouse. Amelia then tucked the top into her black skirt before she muttered into her cell phone, "I'm not that late, Franklin." She glanced down at her wrist before she continued, "I still have at least twenty-five minutes until we have to meet the realtor."

"Actually, you have five minutes," Foggy corrected the brunette in a guilty voice. "You and I are going to bribe a cop first," he explained before he complained with a groan, "and please don't start calling me Franklin again. You know I hate it."

Amelia ignored her friend's complaining about his name. She had heard it all through law school and she didn't plan on stopping now. Instead, Amelia told Foggy, "Brett is going to kick your ass someday."

"Oh, please," Foggy muttered carelessly before he stated, "that is why I'm bringing you. Brett likes you."

"That's because I don't bring his mom cigars," Amelia corrected Foggy as she slipped a pair of black heels over her feet before she spotted a pink box on the ground. She remembered she had received it yesterday but never gotten around to opening it. So Amelia grabbed the box off of her carpet and carried it with her as she made her way into the living room. She sat on her couch and placed the box onto the coffee table along with her cell phone after she had placed it on speakerphone.

Amelia then opened the pink box and pulled out a black leather purse, that was surprisingly heavy. She smiled in appreciation as she was used to getting presents lately after graduating law school. However, as she was looking over the purse, a small piece of paper inside the pink box caught her attention. Amelia sat the purse aside before she opened the small note and began to read -

I hope you like your gift and good luck on your first day as a lawyer!

xoxo P.P.

Amelia shook her head with a small smile before she opened the purse and noticed that it was filled with everything she would need. A matching leather wallet, a hair brush, a small bag of her favorite makeup, a set of pens, and a couple of notepads. However, Amelia soon noticed that there was something else inside that she didn't recognize. It was a black case. She pulled the case out of her purse and noticed a red and black spider on top that looked very familiar. Amelia then slowly opened the case before she rolled her eyes immediately when she noticed a .45 caliber handgun along with another piece of paper.

BADASS LAWYER [✓]  
ALIEN FIGHTER [✓]  
S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT [?]

"AMELIA!" Foggy shouted which caused the brunette to jump out of her thoughts along with almost dropping the loaded weapon. "Did you fall asleep again?" Foggy questioned with annoyance ringing throughout his voice.

"No, I'm on my way, Foggy," Amelia told the brunette lawyer before she quickly pushed the weapon into her purse. She then slipped the black purse over her right shoulder before she jogged out of her large apartment and headed out for the day.

"Well, hurry," Foggy ordered before he exclaimed in a singing voice, "or your favorite lawyer and best friend is going to give your coffee from your favorite shop to the next person I see that just so happens to be right outside your fancy apartment building."

"Oh? Is Matty with you?" Amelia questioned teasingly as she gave an elder woman, Mrs. Jackson, a small wave and a smile before she exited the building and instantly spotted the long haired man, who was holding two coffee cups and a pink bag.

"I hate you," Foggy told his female friend once Amelia was standing directly in front of him before he ended their pointless call and slipped his cell phone into the pocket of his eighty nine dollar navy blue suit.

Amelia grabbed her caramel macchiato with a shot of espresso from the styrofoam container before she uttered with a cheeky smile, "you know you love me, Fog." She then took a large sip of the one thing that keeps her awake before she pointed her head down to the pink bag and commented teasingly, "I didn't know you were going for a new fashion statement, Franklin. But I like it."

Foggy rolled his eyes before he explained as they began to walk down the busy streets of New York, "it's for Bess."

Amelia shook her head with a small chuckle before she told the brunette man, "if Brett wants to kick your ass this time for giving Mrs. Mahoney cigars, then I'm just gonna sit back and watch."

"Hey! It's not my fault the woman knows her cigars," Foggy exclaimed as he defended himself before he added, "besides, we need him if we're ever going to get any cases for the firm."

"Speaking of the firm, have you woken sleeping beauty yet?" Amelia wondered. Matt Murdock, the third lawyer in their tight knitted group, was very notorious for being late. Amelia guessed it was because of his loss of sight. However, she swore Matt is faster and has better balance than she and Foggy combined.

The brunette man shook his head as he took his cell phone back out of his suit pocket and stated, "I was just about to do that," before he mumbled, "God knows I have to be the alarm clock for two grown adults."

"Don't act like I've never pulled you away from the bar while you were drunk off your ass and took care of you," Amelia countered with a chuckle before she grabbed Foggy's hand and pressed the speakerphone button before she let go and listened to the dial tone.

Foggy rolled his eyes before he heard the sound of their sleepy best friend mumble out a small hello. "Good morning, sunshine!" Foggy exclaimed obnoxiously loud.

"What time is it?" Matt questioned tiredly from the other end of the phone.

"Half pass get the hell up," Foggy told his fellow lawyer before he ordered, "let's go. We gotta meet the real estate agent in twenty."

The line went dead silent for a moment before there was a distinct sound of someone moaning, and not even a second later, Foggy was in interrogation mode as he fired out questions, "what was that? Was that a moan? Do you have somebody in bed with you?" Foggy then paused as he thought before he continued with the questions like the true lawyer he is, "the paralegal? Is it the para over at, never, I don't want to hear about it." Foggy shook his head before he changed his mind once again and asked like he was apart of a gossip magazine, "no, I do want to hear about it! What was she like?"

"Violent," Matt mumbled tensely.

Foggy shook his head in disbelief before he stated, "I gotta get the blind thing going. It's so unfair."

"Seriously, Fog," Amelia uttered with a small chuckle, "you definitely need new moves if you want to act like your blind to pick up women, my friend."

"A-Amy! H-Hi!" Matt exclaimed embarrassingly that he had listened to Foggy talk on and on about the nonexistent paralegal while the brunette woman was listening to the whole conversation. Matt definitely needed to have a little talk with his male best friend. He felt like an ass. She probably thinks I'm a player and bad at sex, Matt thought.

"Good morning to you too, Matty," Amelia greeted with a small chuckle.

"As much as I would love to listen to this amazing conversation with an embarrassed Matthew Murdock," Foggy interrupted with a sarcastic tone before he told the aforementioned lawyer, "but we have a cop to bribe."

"Ah, Foggy," Matt trailed off awkwardly when he heard the criminal act in his friend's statement.

"Kidding, NSA, if you're listening," Foggy exclaimed loudly as if the large government company was recording every word he was saying. "But seriously," Foggy continued as he told Matt, "we gotta go bribe a cop."

"Don't worry, Matty. I'll keep him in line," Amelia assured the man on the phone before Foggy swiftly ended the call.

"Keep me in line?" Foggy questioned in disbelief as he slipped his cell phone back into his suit pocket. "Why would I need to be watched?" He wondered as his brows furrowed in confusion.

Amelia rolled her eyes as she questioned right back, "did you not hear what just came out of your mouth, Franklin?" She chuckled before she stated very slowly so Foggy would understand, "you're bribing an office of the law. You know, that thing we swore to abide by."

Foggy only shrugged his shoulders carelessly before he suddenly countered, "well, you are too!" He pointed his finger at Amelia with his eyes narrowed as he continued, "maybe you are the one that needs to be watched."

"I'm not the one bribing with cigars," Amelia stated before she added with a smirk, "I'm just an innocent bystander walking down the street." However, before Foggy could even open his mouth to argue, the brunette woman spotted the police officer that they needed to have a chat with. "Brett," Amelia greeted the brown eyed man with a bright smile. "It's so good to see you again," she expressed once the police officer brought her into a tight hug.

"It has been a while," Brett Mahoney commented before he informed the new lawyer once he greeted her with a small hello, "Mama's been wondering when you'd be coming to dinner again." Out of the three lawyers, Amelia has always been Brett's favorite, despite basically growing up with Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. After Amelia and Brett pulled away from their embrace, the officer faced the male lawyer with a light glare as he uttered boredly, "officer of the law. Defense attorney. We're supposed to be enemies."

"Why don't you ever greet Amelia in this hostile way you got going on right now?" Foggy complained as he pointed his finger between his fellow lawyer and the man he knew from his childhood.

"Amelia doesn't get on my nerves every second of the day like you do, Nelson," Brett told the male lawyer as he crossed his large and muscular arms over his chest.

"Good point," Foggy mumbled before he shook his head and stated, "besides, we've been enemies since we were four, Brett, so let's not blame it on career choices." Foggy then got serious as he began to try to convince Brett to help them out as he explained, "also, I'm not a particularly good defense attorney, so helping us is like helping yourself."

Brett glanced over at the brunette woman before he turned back to Foggy with a raised eyebrow as he questioned, "so, are you saying Amy isn't a good defense attorney either, then? Because if you are, I'm going to have to kick your ass like I did on the school yard." Brett had always been protective over Amelia ever since he met her in Josie's four years ago, where they became fast friends.

"Give him the bag. Give him the bag," Amelia told Foggy hurriedly as she knew the police officer was dead serious. She had always been close to the Mahoney family ever since she started law school and became friends with Matt and Foggy, and from there; she started going to Hell's Kitchen frequently and met Brett.

"Oh!" Foggy yelped as his eyes widened before he quickly pushed the pink bag into the police officer's chest and informed him, "these are for Bess!"

The brown eyed officer of the law glanced between the two defense attorneys before he took a quick peek into the pink bag. He shook his head once he realized what it was before he looked up at Foggy and pleaded in annoyance, "please stop giving my mom cigars."

"I told you," Amelia sung teasingly in a small whisper to her fellow lawyer. She knew Brett would have something to say about the cigars, especially since they are for his elder mom.

"What?" Foggy questioned innocently before he told both Amelia and Brett, "she'll outlive us all." Once he realized the police officer wasn't going to hit him for giving his mom cigars, Foggy began his speech he had been preparing all morning, "look, I'm not asking you to do anything immoral. Just give us a heads up if something, you know, interesting walks through the door."

Brett stared at the male lawyer for a moment before he stated irritatedly, "you're right. It ain't the careers."

"Thanks, buddy!" Foggy cheered as he fist pumped in the middle of the New York streets in excitement for their potential first client.

Amelia shook her head with a small chuckle before she pulled the police officer into a hug and praised in a whisper, "thank you for this. I owe you one."

"You can start by coming over tonight for Mama's homemade chili," Brett told the brunette woman with a small smile before he turned around and began to make his way through the busy streets to protect the city.

"How in the world do you do that?" Foggy questioned in astonishment. "You haven't even known him that long!" He complained with a pout.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders lightly as she and Foggy turned around and began to walk down 50th street to the office space they were hoping to rent out. "I'm just a lovable person, Nelson," she explained with a smirk.

"W-What?" Foggy gasped with his eyes widened as he instantly paused in his step along with ignoring all the angry people that walked around him. "I'm a people person!" He shouted before he quickly jogged to catch up with the giggling and equally as amused woman.

It was another twenty minutes before Amelia Mansfield and Foggy Nelson were welcomed into a gray building by the blonde realtor to look at their potential office space. Amelia already didn't like the woman since she was late when she had specifically told them a few days ago that she would leave if they weren't on time. But Amelia kept her mouth shut as she knew Foggy and Matt really liked the space.

"You've got a reception area, a conference room and three offices," the realtor told Amelia and Foggy as they slowly moved around the pale green office space. "Corner suite has a view of the Hudson," she added before she turned to face the two lawyers and uttered in amusement, "you two can flip a coin to see who gets it."

"Actually, there is thre-" Foggy began to tell the blonde woman but was soon interrupted by the third lawyer in their newly built firm.

"Amelia will be having the corner suite," Matt Murdock stated loudly in an easy tone as he announced his arrival into the room. "I don't need a view and I don't think Foggy will mind," he explained.

Amelia watched in amusement as the realtor's pale face turned bright red before the blonde woman quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry." She shook her head as she tried to fix her mistake, "I didn't mean to-"

A small timid smile rose onto Matt's lips as he interrupted the woman's rambling and uttered politely, "of course not."

The realtor chuckled awkwardly before she decided to start over. "Susan Harris," she introduced herself in a strong and confident voice as she held her hand out to the partner she hadn't had the chance to meet, "Midtown Property Solutions."

The lawyer with the red sunglasses quietly sat his briefcase onto the ground next to his black shoes along with leaning his walking stick against the wall before he also introduced himself, "Matt Murdock."

Amelia walked over to the realtor and whispered into her ear before she moved across the room to stand next to Foggy, "he can't see your hand, sweetie."

Foggy stifled a laugh when he heard what Amelia had said before he told Matt with amusement clearly in his voice, "she just curtsied. It was adorable."

Matt chuckled lightly both at the brunette lawyer he calls his best friend and the nervous realtor before he commented to the blonde woman, "well, it's nice to know chivalry isn't dead." Matt then grabbed his walking stick from the wall and questioned like the polite Catholic boy he was, "Susan, would you mind walking me around the space?"

"Of course," the realtor quickly answered before her nude heels clanked against the plain gray linoleum floors as she made her way towards Matt's side and stated, "it would be my pleasure."

Foggy looked over at Amelia when the blonde woman focused all her attention on Matt before he pointed his fingers to his eyes as he mouthed, "blind."

Amelia rolled her eyes as her friend was trying to prove a point that he needed to try to act blind so he could pick up women. "No skills," Amelia mouthed to the brunette with a smirk which caused Foggy to roll his eyes right back at her.

"As I was telling your associates, the office was barely touched by the incident, which is why it's on the market already," Susan began to tell Matt as she slowly moved around the room with the blind man holding lightly onto her upper arm, "the neighbors weren't so lucky."

Amelia couldn't help the small smirk that rose to her pink lips, since she was apart of 'the incident'. Amelia liked to call it saving New York's ass from aliens and from the trickster; Loki. "Is that what everyone named it?" Amelia wondered curiously as she couldn't help herself, "shouldn't it to be called something more exciting when the Avengers saved us all?"

"You weren't even in the city," Foggy mumbled with an eye roll.

Oh, how wrong you are, Foggy Nelson, Amelia thought as she remembered every second of the destruction of New York while she was in the very center of it. However, Amelia had told Foggy and Matt that she was in Italy for spring break since it all took place during the short holiday they got during law school.

"Well, people in Hell's Kitchen wouldn't exactly call it saving when our city was almost wiped off the map because of what they did," Susan uttered with an attitude.

"I guess you got me there," Amelia uttered in amusement before she focused her green eyes out the window along with Foggy, who had joined her. She knew she shouldn't start anything with the realtor when they have been trying to find a decent office space in Hell's Kitchen for a while now. But it was the truth. When Loki tried to take over Earth, it did almost ruin every single building in Hell's Kitchen. Amelia got lucky, her unofficial adopted brother built a luxurious and advanced apartment building in the city, since she didn't want to move back to Manhattan.

"Owner figuring the delightful view of cranes and scaffolding?" Foggy questioned once he faced the realtor instead of the less than interesting view from the windows. He shook his head and stated, "feels like we're getting pre-incident prices."

"They are a quarter of what they used to be," Susan told the brunette man as she crossed her slim arms over her green and white polka dot blouse. "Hell's Kitchen's on the rebound, Mr. Nelson, and in eighteen months, you won't be able to rent a broom closet at this price," the realtor continued as she tried to convince the group of lawyers.

Amelia didn't enjoy the tone the woman had been using, so she decided to watch her sweat a little bit. She glanced down at her cell phone, like she was reading a message, before she looked up at Susan and stated, "well, you know, that's all good and well. But I just received a text message from Tony Stark, you know Iron Man, and he said a place just opened up that is three hundred less than this place and it just so happens to be Midtown Property's competition."

"U-Uh w-we can knock off three months rent and a hundred off from the recently agreed price," Susan quickly uttered as she flipped nervously through her paperwork. She couldn't allow Manhattan Discovery to take another one of her listings. They would go out of business and she would be out of a job!

"Perfect," Amelia praised with a condescending smile. She looked over at her fellow lawyers as she wondered, "so, what will it be, boys?"

"We'll take it," Matt told the realtor with a simple nod of his head while he grabbed a hold of Amelia's arm when she stopped next to him, before the two began to slowly walk out of the corner suite office.

Foggy chuckled awkwardly as he quickly followed after his two fellow lawyers, who appear to have no issue with the building, before he told Susan, "we will talk about it. Because we're not sure we can afford even this palace, unless we make som-"

"What our associate means is that we would love to rent out this lovely space," Amelia told the realtor with a charming smile as she interrupted Foggy and gave him a pointed look. They couldn't mess this up when every other office building in Hell's Kitchen was charging double than what they wanted to pay. Amelia did agree to pay more than half since her adopted brother always made sure she was taken care of and plus the money she had made in her past life, but Matt and Foggy both said it wouldn't be fair to her.

"No!" Foggy quickly yelped as he definitely didn't agree with Matt and Amelia, "we won't even be able to afford this place if we don't make some changes to our current clientele policies."

"Amelia, me, and our partner are having some disagreements over the direction of M.M.N. Associates," Matt stated before he pointed towards himself and Amelia as he explained, "we believe we're here to defend the innocent."

"And I believe the innocent includes everyone not yet convicted of a crime," Foggy emphasized his side before he shot his fellow lawyers a glare as he reminded them, "you know, as the law states."

Matt shrugged his shoulders lightly before he told the blonde realtor, who was in the center of the ranting conversation, "he tends to use fancy terminology."

"And my partners fail to recognize that as defense attorneys, we're never gonna be able to keep the lights on, waiting on a horde of innocent souls to stumble into our loving arms," Foggy stressed with a loud huff.

"Boys, we can agree to disagree right now, because I'd really like to have one client and we can't do that without an office," Amelia told Matt and Foggy before she turned to face the blonde realtor and clapped her hands as she uttered with a polite smile, "so, where do we need to sign?"

It was about five and a half hours later before Amelia and her two fellow lawyers were finally finished with moving desks, chairs, and file cabinets into M.M.N. Associates, their very own law firm. Amelia was extremely excited to have her own company with her best friends. It was a nice feeling of normalcy.

"We're finished up here, Ms. Mansfield," a member of the moving company called Manhattan Helpers told Amelia as he knocked on the door of her corner suite office.

Amelia looked up from where she was placing stacks of journals into her desk drawer and spotted Scott, who she had met plenty of times when she used to live at the Stark tower during law school. Tony would always use Manhattan Helpers when he or Pepper were buying and moving things. Amelia grabbed a fifty dollar from her wallet before she handed it to the man as she praised, "thank you so much, Scott."

Scott took the cash silently with the nod of his head before he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way. My boss said there is a package for you inside of the filing cabinet," he informed the brunette lawyer.

Amelia's brows furrowed in confusion as she questioned, "who's it from?" She didn't even know who would put something in her things when she barely hired Manhattan Helpers only a few hours ago.

Scott grabbed a scrunched up piece of paper from the back pocket of his jeans before he read the horribly written note, "boss said it's from a, uh, Mr. Zeppelin."

Amelia mentally rolled her eyes. Of course it would be him. He definitely was obvious with the name Mr. Zeppelin, after the rock and roll band, Led Zeppelin. Amelia focused back on the man in front of her as she gave him a tiny smile and uttered, "thanks again for the help today, Scott."

Scott tipped his old gray hat and stated, "my pleasure," before he turned around and made his way out of the building to his men.

Once the door was closed behind the mover, Amelia went towards her black filing cabinet and opened it, where she noticed a red and black box. She then lifted the lightweight box and carefully sat it onto her desk. Amelia thought about opening the container, but remembered who it was from, so she decided to close her blinds encase something extravagant was inside.

Amelia slowly lifted the lid of the box once she made sure no one could see inside of her office before she furrowed her brows as she noticed it was just a small crystal globe of the world. Amelia placed the globe onto her desk with a twitch of her head before her finger accidentally pressed onto the top of the globe and not even a second later, a bright blue light began to shine onto the pale green wall.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Amelia whispered as she recognized the bright blue hologram from her time in Manhattan and in her home.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Mansfield," the artificial intelligence greeted the brunette woman in his familiar calming voice.

However, before Amelia had the chance to ask J.A.R.V.I.S. another question, she was soon interrupted by her cell phone ringing inside of her black leather purse. She quickly pulled the device out and answered it as she could already guess who was calling her. "Seriously, a globe, Mr. Zeppelin?" Amelia questioned in amusement as she took a seat at her desk.

"Well, you wouldn't take the Stark phone and I can't install my programming into your office since you made the stupid rule of no one knowing that you know the awesome Tony Stark," the aforementioned man told the woman he saw as a sister.

Amelia sighed before she told Tony, "I want a normal life, you know that. Besides, you already have J.A.R.V.I.S. in my apartment that you built for me so I wouldn't have to live, like you put it, in a rat nested apartment in actual hell."

"Well, that's just stupid," Tony grumbled, "like it's stupid you don't just move back in with me and Pepper. You could get better and important clients!"

"It's Foggy and Matt's home, Tony," Amelia explained before she stated, "anyways, I don't want to be in the news like I would be if I worked in Manhattan." She glanced at her door before she whispered, "I don't need them finding me."

"You don't have to worry about them when you have the whole Avengers by your side," Tony assured the woman before he wondered, "why don't you just tell your nerd friends about you fighting in the great war of New York?" Tony boasted, "I would be bragging."

"You already do, Tony," Amelia told him with a small chuckle before she repeated her reason, "I just want a normal life." Amelia sat in silence for a moment as her fingertips brushed against the fabric of her new leather purse before she told the billionaire, "hey, tell Pepper that I love the purse and could you also tell Natasha to stop trying to recruit me."

"PEPPER! AMELIA LOVES THE PURSE YOU BOUGHT WITH MY MONEY!" Tony shouted to his strawberry blonde girlfriend before he told Amelia, "and you can tell Natasha yourself, because I may or may not have heard that she and a certain guy with one eye will be showing up for a visit soon."

"You gotta be fucking joking," Amelia muttered in annoyance. Ever since the Avengers came together to fight Loki, Director Fury has been trying to get Amelia to become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. again, like she was during law school. However, that wasn't something she wanted to do anymore. Yeah, it was fun and exciting to save the world in a suit that Tony made, but she would rather be in the courtroom saving people that way.

"Language," a familiar voice suddenly spoke which caused Amelia to swiftly look up and noticed that Matt and Foggy were standing in front of her doorway. The brunette then quickly looked over at the globe and sighed in relief once she realized that J.A.R.V.I.S. had shut himself down.

"Listen, I have to go. Thank you for the congratulations, uncle Anthony," Amelia praised falsely as she knew she needed to end the phone call, so Amelia used the code words that she and Tony had came up with when she couldn't talk about certain Avenger things, which happens to be just Tony's full name.

"You are very welcome, young lady," Tony stated loudly with an obvious smirk on his face at the chance to embarrass Amelia, "dammit! I left my teeth in the-"

However, before Tony could finish his sentence, Amelia quickly ended the call. She faced her two best friends once she placed her phone down and apologized, "I'm sorry about that." She waved her hand carelessly as she explained, "it was just my mom's brother. He wanted to congratulate us on the new firm."

Matt nodded his head in understanding as he gave the brunette woman a gentle smile and said, "send my thanks."

"Enough about your old uncle," Foggy exclaimed before his face took shape like an excited toddler on Christmas morning as he asked the one question he had been waiting to ask for hours, "so, do you really have Iron Man's number?"

Amelia rolled her eyes before she uttered sarcastically, "oh, yeah. Totally, Foggy. He's my number one contact." Even though it was the truth, Amelia couldn't let them find out about her secret identity and that Tony Stark is basically her family.

Matt twitched his head to the side as he noted, "your heartbeat didn't rise," before he wondered curiously, "so, you do have Iron Man's number?"

Amelia glared at Matt, even though she knew he couldn't exactly see the look in her eyes. She always hated when he tried to listen to her heartbeat. "Don't use your hearing powers on me, Matthew," Amelia commanded before she told them with a sigh, "I don't have Iron Man's number. I just know how to control my heartbeat because of the Marines."

"WHAT!?" Both Matt and Foggy yelped at the shocking revelation of their best friend.

Amelia mentally cursed herself. She forgot she never told them about how she used to serve in the military. But that was something she wanted to keep in her past, which was connected to the old silver ring that was on the silver chain on her bedside table. Amelia decided she would lie, as bad as she hated to do it.

Amelia waved her hand in the air carelessly before she explained, "when I was getting my bachelor's degree in political science, I got the opportunity to watch and learn from the soldiers on how to be biased and show no emotion during the interview process." It wasn't a total lie, as she did learn that when she was stationed in Afghanistan.

The small office grew silent as Amelia waited impatiently for her best friends to say something - anything. She needed them to believe her or everything she and Tony had tried to keep under wraps would slowly begin to unravel. After another agonizing slow minute passed, Foggy finally spoke in a surprisingly excited tone, "you are so lucky! We are going to crush the courtroom with you by our side!"

Amelia held the sigh of relief she wanted to let go as she knew Matt was definitely focusing on her reactions right now, even though she told him not to. The Murdock lawyer had always been like that ever since Amelia met him at the beginning of law school.

"We certainly will if we ever get a client," Matt finally stated.

However, before either of the other two lawyers could utter a single word, the sound of a cell phone ringing ran through the small office. The brunette female realized it was her device, so she quickly grabbed it off her desk before she glanced down at the screen. Once she saw who was calling, Amelia gave her best friends a pleased smirk before she answered the call, "please tell you are about to be my savior right now."

The person on the other end of the phone, Brett Mahoney, chuckled wholeheartedly and stated, "I think I just might be," before he explained, "I got a homicide. Female suspect found at the scene. It definitely qualifies as interesting like you wanted."

Amelia nodded her head as she listened before she asked, "have they charged her?"

"Assistant DA hasn't made the call yet," Brett informed the brunette woman about what he had heard about the case.

The Mansfield woman decided that it could be interesting if they haven't even charged their suspect when she was at the scene of the crime. Amelia opened the drawer of her desk and swiftly grabbed a blue notepad and a black pen before she asked the police officer, "what's the name of the lucky gal?"

"Karen Page," Brett responded as he remembered the name of the blonde suspect.

Amelia wrote down the two words before she praised New York's finest with the nickname she had always called Brett since they became friends, "you are the best, Honey."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Brett mumbled before he told the lawyer, "I'll come find you so you can get the rest of the details." However, before Amelia could open her mouth to respond, Brett quickly added, "Mama's chili. Dinner. Tonight," before he swiftly ended the call.

Amelia chuckled lightly at her police officer friend as she knew she would have to show up now since he didn't give her a chance to say no to dinner at the Mahoney house. But she didn't mind. Amelia has always loved Bess. She was a sweet old woman, who always treated Amelia like her own.

The brunette woman then remembered the news she got when she felt the eyes of her friends drilling on the side of her head. Amelia quickly grabbed her notepad, turned it around, and slammed it onto her desk as she told her fellow lawyers, "we just got a client, gentlemen."

It was silent for a moment before Foggy exclaimed in disbelief, "holy shit." He looked into Amelia's green eyes with a large grin as he cheered, "hell yeah!" The whole office was then filled with sounds of excitement as the three lawyers laughed and celebrated that they would be getting their very first client for their newly made law firm of M.M.N. Associates.

Amelia walked with her head held high as she and her two best friends moved through all of the police officers, who glared at the three defense attorneys, to find their potential client. Amelia learned to act like you are the biggest badass in the room and you will always succeed. Well, really, that was just a thing her college roommate at Columbia would say, but it always made Amelia feel so powerful that she could conquer anything.

The three lawyers walked through the narrow hallway that belonged to the interrogation rooms, where Brett Mahoney easily handed Amelia the police report on the female suspect as he passed them. Amelia quickly slipped the brown folder into her black purse before the three lawyers continued their way down the dark hallway until they reached the interview room that Brett had texted her about; room four.

There outside of interview room four stood a straight edge detective that looked like he hasn't smiled in decades. "Mansfield. Murdock. Nelson," Amelia stated before she pointed her head towards the door with a raised eyebrow like she was waiting for the detective to challenge her.

The detective slowly looked Amelia's body up and down before he finally opened the door and walked through it without a single sound. The female lawyer rolled her eyes once the detective turned his back to them. However, Amelia is used to the looks when she's a strong woman challenging a man. It was just how society works.

"Okay, can we please take the handcuffs off the 110-pound woman?" Foggy questioned the two tall detectives with an annoyed huff once the three lawyers had walked through the metal door and spotted the tiny blonde woman with tears streaming down her pale face.

The emotionless detective, Christian Blake, ignored the brunette man's order as he faced the criminal and questioned, "Miss Page, can you tell me who these people are?"

Amelia slammed her black purse onto the metal table before she told the detective with a glare, "yeah, it's called we're her lawyers."

"Could you please uncuff our client and give us the room," Matt spoke politely while he lightly placed his hand on the lower part of Amelia's back and gave her blouse covered back two taps with his point finger. It was his way to warn her to control her emotions. He always thought she got too emotional with things, but in reality, it was just how Amelia dealt with arrogant men. She didn't serve in the Marines with a squad full of men just to be disrespected by one.

The dark haired detective stared at the blind lawyer for a moment before he grabbed the small silver key from the pocket of his suit. He then undid the tight handcuffs from around the blonde woman's hands that was chained to the ice cold table.

Amelia gave the man, or in her mind - the hard ass, a charming smile and praised, "thank you for your help, detective."

Once the large heavy door buzzed as it closed behind the arrogant detective and his silent partner, Foggy turned to Amelia and whispered as quietly as he could in the small room, "I think we already made an enemy in the police department."

Amelia rolled her eyes as she whispered back, "he's an ass. I was never going to like him." She didn't care that some detective didn't like her and she definitely wasn't going to act fake for that arrogant man.

Matt cleared his throat as he interrupted the conversation between his two best friends, even though Matt was amused by Amelia's attitude towards the detective, who really was an ass in Matt's opinion. "Miss Page, my name is Matt Murdock," he introduced himself before he added, "and these are my associates, Foggy Nelson and Amelia Mansfield." Matt pointed towards the table before questioning, "do you mind if we sit down?"

However, the blonde woman, Karen Page, only stared at the lawyer with glasses over his eyes as warm tears continued to stream down hers. Karen didn't know who to trust after what happened tonight. And now these strangers just suddenly pop up out of nowhere. So, Karen decided to stay silent. If she didn't say anything then she couldn't get into anymore trouble, right?

"She gave a vague shrug," Foggy whispered to Matt before he shrugged his shoulders himself as he commented, "I say we go with it."

The three lawyers decided to go with it, like Foggy suggested, and silently slid into the hard metal chairs across from the blonde suspect before Matt began to speak again, "we understand you're in some trouble. We, uh, may be able to help."

Amelia grabbed the folder Brett had gave her and the blue notepad from her purse along with a black pen before she questioned politely, "Miss Page, could you please explain to us what happened tonight?"

However, when the blonde woman still only stayed silent, Amelia decided to see if her facial expressions would give her away. Luckily, it only took the ex Marine about thirty seconds before she noticed the distrust that shined in the woman's blue eyes. Amelia realized that they needed to earn her trust before they could go any further.

Amelia gave the blonde woman a gentle smile and explained, "we just want to know your side of the story, so we can see if we can help you." She then opened the police report and found the deceased name. "A one Daniel Fisher was found in your apartment," Amelia told the woman as she started up the conversation to get Karen to open up.

"Who happens to be the victim of a homicide, and currently, you're the only suspect, Miss Page," Matt continued where is fellow lawyer left off as he tried to convince the woman to allow them to help her.

Karen looked between the three people in front of her for a moment before she questioned suspiciously, "who the hell are you guys?"

"We are the people who are trying to keep you from spending the rest of your young life in prison, Miss Page," Amelia told the suspect as she laced her fingers together on top of the police report.

"Who sent you?" Karen fired out another question as she narrowed her blue eyes in wariness.

"No one sent us," Matt answered simply.

"So, what?" Karen questioned in disbelief, "you're just a couple of good Samaritans? And today's just my lucky day?" She didn't believe that someone could just come help her without knowing something or wanting something. That wasn't how Hell's Kitchen worked.

"I bribed the desk sergeant with a box of cigars for his mom," Foggy told the blonde woman proudly.

"Not something you should admit to someone you want to save from jail time," Amelia muttered to her long haired friend.

"Our practice is relatively young, Miss Page, and we are aggressively pursuing new clientele," Matt explained as he felt that Karen was looking between his fellow associates with furrowed brows and they certainly didn't need to get off topic right now. They needed to hear what happened from her. However, Matt couldn't help himself as he told his male best friend, "you really gotta stop giving Bess cigars."

"That's what I keep telling him," Amelia told Matt before she added with a small smirk as she glanced over at Foggy, "Brett is going to kick his ass someday."

"She likes to smoke," Foggy exclaimed as he defended himself, "it's a free country."

"So, how long have you been practicing law?" Karen wondered as her blonde brows furrowed while she tried to keep up with the strange back and forth conversation between the three people that wanted to help her.

Matt stared straight ahead as he thought over the question before he asked his fellow associates in a small whisper, "what time is it?"

Amelia lifted her right hand up and glanced down at the rose gold Rolex on her wrist before she informed Matt, "it's six fifteen p.m."

The Murdock lawyer breathed out a small sigh before he finally answered Karen's question, "about seven hours."

Foggy scoffed before he trailed off, "well, if you go from when we passed the bar."

"I was going from when we got our own desks," Matt explained his reasoning to Foggy.

Foggy nodded his head as he agreed, "oh, then, yeah." He faced the confused Karen and smiled as he reaffirmed, "seven hours."

Karen looked between the two men and the brunette woman in disbelief before she questioned in astonishment, "you've never done this before?"

"If you were to allow us to help you prove your innocence, then yes, you would be lucky number one," Amelia explained with a soft smile. They needed for Karen to want their help, so she would smile and be the sweetest person alive if it got Karen to trust them.

Foggy nodded his head as he added, "technically. Yeah."

"W-Well, I-I don't... I don't have any money," Karen stuttered nervously after she thought everything through while she avoided eye contact for the first time since she met the lawyers.

Amelia mentally cheered as she knew Karen was warming up to them if the thought of paying for their service was on her mind. However, before Amelia could assure the blonde woman that it wouldn't be a problem right now, Foggy decided to mess that all up.

"Well, it was lovely to meet you, Miss Page," Foggy stated as he began to stand up from the hard chair but was soon stopped by Matt's strong grasp on his wrist.

The Murdock lawyer cleared his throat loudly as he waited to hear the sound of Foggy sitting back down before he assured Karen like Amelia was planning on doing when she was interrupted by their associate, "you don't have any money and we don't have any clients. Maybe we can help each other."

Amelia decided to push it a step further as they needed badly to hear her side of the story if she was going to be their client. Amelia reached over the table and lightly placed her hand over Karen's and spoke softly, "we just want to help you and understand what happened tonight. So, please, could you tell us how you know Mr. Fisher?"

Karen stared into Amelia's green eyes for a moment before she nodded her head once and swallowed thickly as she finally decided she could trust them. "We worked together," Karen answered.

Foggy sighed heavily as he realized his fellow associates wanted to listen to the blonde's case. He then swiped his red notepad from his brown shoulder bag and questioned with the least amount of excitement unlike the emotions he was feeling when they had first received the case from Brett, "and your place of employment?"

"Union Allied Construction," Karen stated before she told her position at the company, "I'm a secretary." She glanced between the three lawyers before she began to explain further into how she knew the man, "Daniel worked downstairs in Legal." She shook her head as she muttered, "I-I d-didn't know him very well. But he was always nice, you know?" Karen paused as she licked her chapped lips before continuing, "but it's hard to meet people in the city, so I asked him if he would have a drink with me."

"You asked him?" Matt questioned as he tried to get the full detail of tonight.

Karen nodded her head before she told the lawyers as her voice broke in sadness, "like I said, he was a nice guy." She took a shaky deep breath before continuing her story about what happened, "we met at the Three Roads bar, on 49th street. We had a few drinks, and the next thing I remember is waking up on the floor of my apartment covered in blood. His blood."

Amelia silently wrote down every detail the blonde woman said into her blue notepad. It would be a difficult case for them, seeing as the deceased was inside Karen's apartment with her covered in his blood. There was just something that Amelia couldn't understand, though. Why wasn't the police charging her yet when they have the body, the weapon, and the suspect? It just didn't add up.

"I'm not stupid," Karen exclaimed as she slammed her pale hands on the metal table once she noticed the silence and expressions from the lawyers, "I know how that sounds." Karen's blue eyes shifted between the three people in front of her as she pleaded her case as tears streamed down her face, "but I'm telling you, we met at the bar. We had a few drinks. And I don't know what happened after that. It wasn't me." Karen begged desperately as sobs left her body, "please. Please, you have to believe me. I didn't kill him."

Amelia and Foggy silently shared looks between each other before their fellow lawyer voiced exactly what Amelia was thinking, "I believe you, Miss Page."

Amelia knew that Matt did what she hated, he listened to Karen's heartbeat to see if she was telling the truth. She knew it was a good tactic for a lawyer, but in Amelia's experience, it wasn't always reliable like in her case. However, Amelia just had this gut instinct that this woman wasn't lying.

The three best friends and lawyers were relaxing inside of Matt's small office after they were kicked out of the interview room by Mr. Hard Ass as their time had expired for the night with their client. It had been an exhausting day for all three lawyers, which caused for ties to be loosened and heels thrown off as they all thought over their very first case.

"I'm friends with Gary Feinstein in the DA's office," Foggy told his fellow associates as he spoke up for the first time since they've been in their office building while he tossed his childhood baseball up in the air as he walked around the room, "I'll give him a call first thing in the morning to see where their heads are at." Foggy shrugged his shoulders as he thought out loud, "I'm guessing they're gonna puff out their chests, but they have to know murder two's a risk." He then turned towards Amelia and Matt as he predicted what will happen, "we end up at manslaughter, we get the right judge, maybe she's out in five to ten."

Amelia shook her head and stated, "we're not taking a deal." There was no way Karen did it. Amelia knew liars and criminals, but that wasn't who Karen was. The only thing she was guilty of was of being scared and afraid of something or someone.

Foggy groaned loudly and mumbled, "no," before he explained to the female lawyer, who was sitting on top of Matt's desk with the aforementioned man standing to the side of her with his hands settled on his hips, "this is why they have deals, Melia. So, the straightforward cases don't waste everybody's time."

Matt shook his head before he told Foggy, "I agree with Amy. I don't think she did it."

Foggy looked at the other two people in the room like they were completely crazy. What was there to think about when everything was laid out in front of them? "She's the soul suspect," Foggy stated as he began to explain his reasoning for wanting to take whatever deal the DA suggests, "she was found at the scene, covered in blood, with the murder weapon and no defensive wounds." He chuckled lightly before he uttered, "if they offer anything it'll be a gift, and we will take that gift. We do not want this to go to trial."

Matt lifted a finger to prove his point as he told Foggy, "they don't want this to go to trial either."

Amelia nodded her head before she expressed what she had been thinking since they found out about the case, "something sketchy is going on. It should be an open and shut case." She rose an eyebrow at Foggy as she questioned, "so, why haven't they charged her with all the evidence they have?"

Foggy rose his arms in the air as he shrugged his shoulders before he guessed what was taking so long for the police to close the case, "they have twenty-four hours. Plus, it's the weekend. They're gonna take every last second to collect the evidence before they move."

"They've got the evidence," Matt argued, "you just laid it out yourself." He shook his head and stated, "this is a good arrest, Foggy. We should already be reading it in the papers. There's something not right about this case. I can feel it."

Foggy instantly stopped tossing the baseball in the air when he heard Matt's choice of words. He then turned to the male and deadpanned, "you can feel it?" Foggy sighed before he uttered, "alright, I'm just gonna say this once, and we can move on." He paused as he waited for any objections before Foggy told Matt, "you don't necessarily show the best judgment when beautiful women are involved."

"How would I even know if she's a beautiful woman?" Matt questioned amusingly.

Foggy shrugged his shoulders as he responded, "I don't know. It's kinda spooky, actually. But if there's a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock's gonna find her and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer."

"And what about Amelia Mansfield?" The aforementioned brunette questioned as she rose an eyebrow at her ranting friend.

Foggy furrowed his brows as he thought for a moment before he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "obviously you are just as bad as Matt over here! Every time you walk into a room, men swoon after you!"

Matt shrugged his shoulders as he agreed with his male best friend tensely, "he's not wrong." Matt had noticed that plenty of times when Amelia walked into a room by the fast heartbeats of men.

Amelia shook her head with a chuckle before she uttered with a cheeky grin, "it's not my fault men can't help but fall for my charm."

Foggy rolled his eyes at Amelia and her cocky attitude before he turned to Matt and praised, "thank you! At least someone gets it!"

"But," Matt announced as he interrupted Foggy's gratification, "I need you to back Amelia and I, anyways."

"Ugh, fine," Foggy groaned as he decided to just agree with his two fellow lawyers. There was no way to get around them. He always hated when they agreed with each other, because he would never win when they did. "Alright, fine. Let's start with the obvious, then," Foggy began as he went through the case in his head so they could plead Karen's innocence, "if she didn't do it, then who did?" He shook his head with a sigh before he stated, "we're dead in the water if we don't give them an alternative."

Matt nodded his head and muttered, "agreed."

"We need to take another run at our client," Foggy declared, "she may not be guilty, guys, but that doesn't mean Miss Page is telling the truth."

Amelia nodded her head and stated, "that's what I've been thinking," before she stood up and slipped her black heels over her feet and added, "but that is going to have to wait until the morning." She brushed her skirt down and explained, "it's late, guys and I have a bowl of Mrs. Mahoney's chili with my name on it."

"I should be the one getting homemade chili," Foggy grumbled as the three lawyers exited Matt's office and headed towards the receptionist area before he added in annoyance, "I'm the one that brings her cigars."

Amelia chuckled as she placed her leather purse over her shoulder before the three lawyers began to slowly exit M.M.N. Associates. "I'm just a lovable person, Nelson," she repeated what she had said this morning before she promised, "but I'll bring you a bowl in the morning, you big baby."

"You better," Foggy grumbled as they reached the dark streets of Hell's Kitchen. "I'll be waiting and dreaming of the chili while I drink my sorrows," Foggy joked before he waved goodbye to Amelia and Matt and then began to make his way down the street to their favorite bar, Josie's.

"Don't get too drunk!" Amelia shouted to the brunette man with a chuckle before she and Matt began to walk in a comfortable silence the opposite way to Matt's apartment which was the same way to Amelia's next destination.

"Do you want me to walk you to the Mahoney's?" Matt questioned softly after a couple of minutes had passed as they grew closer to his apartment building.

Amelia shook her head and stated, "no, it's okay. It's not that far anyways. Just a couple of blocks."

Matt lightly grabbed onto Amelia's arm as he pulled her to a stop before he confessed, "I don't like you walking down the streets alone at night. You know how dangerous it can be."

"I'll be fine, Matty," Amelia told her friend with a small smile. If only Matt knew she could protect herself from anyone that was thrown at her. But Amelia would rather keep that a secret as long as she could. Instead, Amelia just mentioned something Matt already knew, "besides, I've learned how to handle my own when I did that short program in the military."

Matt stared in Amelia's direction as his dark brows furrowed slightly before he muttered, "alright. But give me a call when you get there."

"I promise, you worrywart," Amelia chuckled before she pulled Matt into a tight hug and whispered, "good night, Matty."

"Be careful, Amy," Matt ordered as he squeezed her waist before he turned around and headed towards his apartment building with the sound of his walking stick slapping against the concrete sidewalk.

Amelia waited until she couldn't see Matt anymore, before she began to make her way towards the Mahoney house for dinner. She and Matt always had this close friendship, that most people would think was more than friends. But that was far from the truth. Amelia and Matt always been best friends since freshman year of Columbia Law School - along with Foggy. Besides, Amelia would never take the chance to see if there's more between them when she was hiding things about herself. She didn't want Matt to end up hurt because of her past.

Amelia pressed her right thumb on the small touch pad that was right underneath the doorknob of her apartment door, that Tony had installed because the apartment building was always being broken into since it was in Hell's Kitchen, before she entered with a tired sigh. Amelia was pretty exhausted from her first day as an official lawyer, but the dinner with the Mahoney's definitely helped. She always loved Bess' home cooking. They made Amelia feel like she had a real home and a family.

Amelia made her way through her dark apartment and headed into the kitchen before she quietly found the refrigerator and placed Foggy's chili beside a half full jug of milk. However, as Amelia closed the door to the appliance, she soon realized she hadn't heard a single sound of Bucky's usual barking.

Amelia's body automatically went into soldier mode as she silently placed her black purse on the ground by her feet and slipped out of her black heels before she grabbed the loaded and already cocked gun from the hiding place by her sink. She then swiftly twirled her body around and pointed the weapon straight ahead, where she now noticed two shapes sitting at her kitchen table along with the shadow of her dog on one their laps.

"I know you ain't about to fire that gun, Ms. Mansfield," a strong but familiar voice ran loudly through the very dark apartment.

"What the hell," Amelia muttered while she rolled her eyes as she knew only one person that voice could belong to. "Lights," Amelia told J.A.R.V.I.S. and pointed the gun towards the ground with a slacked arm. Once the lights shined through the apartment, Amelia could finally see the faces of her close friend, Natasha Romanoff and the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury with her three month old husky in his hands.

Amelia placed the black handgun onto her kitchen table before she questioned, "do you know I have a secure keypad on my door?" She glanced between Natasha and Fury with a raised eyebrow as she stated, "it means you don't break in."

The woman with the short orange hair shrugged her shoulders easily and said, "you should know by now that none of Stark's electronics will stop a spy." Natasha stared into Amelia's green eyes with seriousness in her own before she busted out laughing. She then jumped up from the black chair and rounded the table before she pulled the smiling Amelia into a hug. "It's so good to see you," she mumbled truthfully.

"You too," Amelia muttered into the hug. She hadn't seen the spy since the Avengers came together to protect Earth over six months ago. Once Amelia pulled away, she glanced between Fury and Natasha before she questioned, "so, what are you guys doing here?"

Nick Fury only unfolded his leather coat covered arms and pulled out a black and blue file folder from his coat and placed it onto Amelia's table along with a blue pen without a single word.

Amelia rose an eyebrow at the director, but when she only got silence from the emotionless Fury and a smirk from Natasha, Amelia opened the file and began to read. However, she only read about two sentences before she closed the file and uttered simply, "no."

Nick Fury glared slightly at the brunette woman as he interrogated, "and why the hell not?"

Amelia rolled her eyes as she responded with the same answer she had been using for about less than a year, "because I'm done being a vigilante, superhero, spy, assassin, or whatever you want to call it. I'd rather help in the courtroom."

"Cut the bullshit," Nick Fury commanded, "come to D.C. and be an agent like you were before you decided to join the damn law."

Amelia rolled her eyes in annoyance once more before she compromised, "listen, I was with the agency all through law school. You knew once I graduated I was done. However, I will come back if the world ever needs the Avengers again. I can promise you that."

"Fine," Nick Fury snarled and grabbed the file from the table like he has done for months before he made his way towards the front door. "If you ever change your stubborn ass mind, the door is always open for Sergeant Viper," he told Amelia before he slammed the door behind him. The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. could crack the toughest agents but Amelia was one he could never get to join the agency again, which pissed him off every single time. But he would settle for a part time agent, as he still has Natasha and The Captain.

"Who pissed him off?" Amelia questioned in amusement as she walked into her kitchen with her husky following along and Natasha's combat boots slamming against the tile floor.

"You," Natasha muttered with a small chuckle. "You know how he is. He hates when he doesn't get his way." She shrugged her shoulders and commented, "I'm pretty sure if you were anybody else, he would kill you himself."

Amelia couldn't help but laugh as she knew that was the truth. Nick Fury could get as mad as he wanted with her, but that was as far as it would go. Amelia didn't know if it was because she was a good agent or because he knew she would always come back. It was just who Amelia was. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

Amelia reached under her cabinet and pulled out the bottle of alcohol she and Natasha always drank when they got together; Russian vodka. "How about a drink before the road?" Amelia questioned with a smirk as she knew Natasha never could say no.

"What the hell, Amelia. I've been here for over two hours waiting and you had this baby stashed," Natasha exclaimed teasingly before she grabbed a glass from the counter, poured it half way of the clear liquid, before she swiftly downed it. "Oh, damn," Natasha moaned before she uttered, "I really wish you would just come along. It could be fun. You, me, and Cap."

Amelia groaned as she stated, "I'm not going back, Tasha." She just wanted a life of normalcy. All her life she had been a soldier of her father, a soldier of the military, and a soldier of S.H.I.E.L.D. She wanted to be just a boring ole lawyer.

Natasha shrugged her shoulders as she uttered, "can't say I didn't try." She poured herself another drink before she sighed, "I should be going. We got a big mission in Washington. Hostages at Lemurian Star."

"Please don't give me any details," Amelia begged as she knew she would fall right back into the agency. She was born to serve, so she always hated saying no to a cause.

Natasha chuckled as she uttered, "alright, alright. I'm done. I know you want a normal life. I've tried plenty of times." She placed her hand on Amelia's shoulder as she told her, "but there's no getting out of this for people like us."

Amelia gave Natasha a small sad smile, "yeah, I know." She shook her head and uttered, "but right now, that's what I'm doing." The two women walked to the front door before Amelia pulled her friend into a hug and ordered, "call me when you get back in New York."

"I will," Natasha told Amelia once she pulled away from the hug.

"And call me if you need any help with the mission," Amelia added.

Natasha shook her head with a chuckle and stated, "yeah, no. Being an agent is like a drug, you can never get enough." Natasha gave the brunette woman a smile as she continued, "so, no. I'm not giving you a call. I think we can handle a mission without you."

Amelia pouted before she stated, "yeah, you're right. Besides, I'm a lawyer now." She gave her friend one last smile as she told the spy, "tell Steve I said hi."

Natasha smirked, "I will," and ordered, "don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone," before she headed out of the apartment for the last time for a while and quickly went to catch her ride to Washington, D.C. with Director Fury.

Amelia waited until she couldn't see her spy friend anymore before she silently closed the door to her apartment and headed towards her bedroom with her husky following quickly behind her. Amelia was too tired to even shower, so she just slipped out of her pencil skirt and fell onto her bed with a tired huff.

She closed her eyes for a second before she heard the scratching of her dog on her silk sheets. Amelia chuckled before she turned on her side and picked Bucky up, which caused the dog to swiftly snuggle up to Amelia's side. "I know, buddy, I'm tired too," she muttered with a yawn. It only took the lawyer about two minutes before she was snoring softly as the thought of her first client was on her mind.

The life of a lawyer was very tiring and new for the brunette woman. It was different from being a soldier or an agent but Amelia liked the idea of a simple life. But how long would her life stay simple?

I'm not sure who Amelia will be with. It will either be Matt Murdock, Frank Castle, or Billy Russo. [I've recently been thinking of a triangle between Frank and Billy, but who knows…] So, while the story continues, please let me know!  
xoxo 


	3. Chapter 2

Amelia Mansfield stormed into the police station with her two fellow lawyers only a couple of steps behind while everyone else in New York was still trying to wake up from their weekend hangover. The brunette woman couldn't believe the phone call she had received this morning when she was walking Bucky down the street for his morning walk. Amelia's close friend and police Sergeant, Brett Mahoney, had told Amelia that while M.M.N. Associates's client was supposed to be safely asleep in her cell, she was attacked by a man that just so happened to work for the police department.

Amelia was furious with how Karen Page was treated in the custody of New York's finest. That was the one place where she was supposed to feel the most safest. But no, the blonde was almost murdered in her sleep while clueless police officers were only feet away. Amelia definitely knew now that this case was way more important than they had originally thought. She guessed her and Matt's theory was right; that something or someone else was involved in the supposedly simple murder case.

"Detectives, I'm going to make this real simple," Amelia exclaimed as she, Foggy, and Matt walked into the same stuffy interrogation room that they were in yesterday, which also held the same two detectives; the hard ass and the silent partner. "You are going to release our client before I accidentally tell my good friend, Nora, that works at New York Times about our sweet and kind client and how she was nearly killed in the custody of the police." Amelia twitched her head to the side with amusement written all over her face as she commented, "I think her story will be front page worthy."

"And I'll agree not to make cooing noises for the rest of this meeting when I think of the civil suit that we have on our hands," Foggy added to what Amelia had said as he gave the two detectives a condescending grin.

Detective Hard Ass as Amelia liked to call him, or Detective Blake, crossed his arms over his black tie with absolutely no emotion on his face like he wasn't even bothered by the threats from the two lawyers. "How do you know they're not charging her?" He questioned as he barely lifted up one of his dark eyebrows.

"Besides the fact that you were required to do so four hours ago if you were gonna do it at all?" Matt stated in a form of a question as he stared straight ahead which just so happened to be in the direction of Detective Blake.

"That's an excellent question," Foggy commented before he added to the reason why the police should release their client, "along with how the security cameras on Miss Page's detention area went on the fritz right before the assault."

"That's some coincidence," Amelia tsked as she slowly shook her head. She then linked her hands together on top of the cold metal table while she glanced between the two detectives before she finally spoke as she began to request, "we'd love to have a little chat with Mr. Farnum about that as well as -"

However, before Amelia could finish even getting the request out of her mouth, she was soon rudely interrupted by the silent partner, Detective Hoffman, as he barked out, "get in line," before he informed the defense attorneys in a calmer voice, "he'll be arraigned tomorrow morning."

"Get our client released," Matt demanded in a strong voice as he didn't see why Karen Page was still in the police custody and why there were even still talking about it. There was no way around it if the police department didn't want a huge lawsuit on their hands.

The small gray room soon grew silent as the two detectives whispered back and forth with each other before Detective Blake told the group of lawyers with a small nod of his head, "I'll call the ADA." He then swiftly stood up from the metal chair and leaned over the table until he was right in front of Matt's face and threatened, "but you take that tone with me again, I don't care if you're blind, I'll kick the shit out of you."

The Mansfield lawyer instantly stood up from her own metal chair at the threat towards one of her closest friends as she glared down at the bent over arrogant man before her expression swiftly changed into one of a large smirk as she uttered sweetly, "have a good day, gentlemen."

It took a couple of long minutes before the heavy metal door closed behind the two detectives as the hard ass kept glaring at all three defense attorneys. The long haired man, Foggy, breathed out a loud scoff as soon as the room was overcome by silence before he mumbled sarcastically, "well, that was pleasant."

There was barely a beat that went by once Foggy had closed his mouth before Matt Murdock exclaimed quietly, "it doesn't make any sense." He shook his head before he explained, "the ADA had everything they needed." Matt then paused for a moment, so he could think about their case before he murmured as he slowly stood up from the metal table, "unless they have too much."

"What?" Foggy questioned with his brows furrowed deeply as he quickly scrambled to get his brown side bag along with clumsily getting up from the uncomfortable chair as he tried to keep up with Amelia and Matt. "What am I missing?" He hurriedly questioned as jogged up to their side as they exited the interrogation room.

Amelia bit down on her bottom lip as she thought everything over before she suggested to what Matt was saying, "maybe someone else was there." She paused in her step as she turned and faced her two fellow lawyers and added, "it's possible they could have evidence that supports that someone else was in Karen's apartment."

Foggy quickly shook his head as he disagreed. "That's Brady material," he stated as his mind went straight to the education he learned in the past three years at Columbia Law School, "they'd have to turn that over."

"Only if she was charged," Matt corrected the male lawyer. "If Karen hangs herself in her cell," he told Foggy as he used the current situation their client was in as an example before he explained in the simplest of words, "then it all goes away."

A chill instantly ran up Foggy's spine at the very thought of the people that works for the law would do such a thing. "Let's get her some clothes and get the hell out of here," Foggy hurriedly exclaimed as it felt wrong being in this very building since the officers almost allowed for their client to get murdered.

Amelia patted her black purse as she told her fellow lawyers, "I got it covered," before she exited the long silent interrogation hallway and made her way towards the detention area. Amelia had brought a set of clothes with her as she knew without a single doubt that they would be able to get Karen out of jail thanks to what happened here last night.

"Hi, Connie," Amelia greeted the woman who's in charge of who gets to enter and exit the detention area. The defense attorney signed her name on the fifth slot on the log-in clipboard before she told Connie, "I'm here to get a Miss Karen Page. The ADA should be sending in the paperwork soon."

The woman with the curly salt and pepper hair silently nodded her head before she turned to her old desktop computer. She then slowly began to type the aforementioned name before she told Amelia as she handed her a set of keys, "cell eleven."

"Thank you," Amelia uttered politely as she held the cold keys closely before she headed down the long hallway that was filled with cells on each side. The brunette woman ignored all of the hollering and whistling she got from the men before she finally found the correct cell. Amelia then unlocked the door with the right key and spoke towards the pacing blonde, "I'm here to rescue you, Miss Page."

Karen swiftly turned around at the new voice in the room before she sighed thankfully when she spotted a familiar face that she was beginning to trust. "I get to leave?" She questioned in a whisper as she rubbed her hand up and down her pale arm.

"Yes, ma'am," Amelia uttered with a soft smile before she opened up her black leather purse. "I brought you a change of clothes," she informed the blonde woman before she took a quick glance to the standard grey jail uniform on Karen's body and stated, "I don't think you want to walk down the streets in that." The brunette lawyer then focused back onto her purse before she finally pulled out a pair of black sweatpants and a light blue sweater. "We're basically the same size, so they should fit," she commented as she handed over the clothes to the blonde woman.

"Thanks," Karen mumbled in a whisper before she moved to the corner of the small cell and slowly began to change out of the itchy uniform she had been wearing.

"It's my job," Amelia told the blonde woman in a gentle voice as she stood in front of the opened cell until she heard Karen clear her throat. Amelia took that as a sign she was finished changing, so she turned around while she pulled out a pair of black and white sneakers from her purse before she handed them over to the now free woman.

Once Karen had slipped the shoes over her feet and stood up straight, Amelia lightly placed her hand onto the blonde woman's back and directed her out of the cell. "You'll be in good hands with us," Amelia promised as they made their way down the end of the hallway, where Amelia handed the keys over to Connie with the same polite smile she had greeted her with before the two women walked out of the detention area for hopefully the last time.

The sun had disappeared and the moon was lighting up the city of Hell's Kitchen by the time Amelia and Karen had finally exited the police station and made their way inside of the old building that held the company of M.M.N. Associates. It took so long thanks to the ADA taking their slow time to get the paperwork sent over to the detectives before they could officially release their blonde suspect into Amelia's custody.

Amelia made sure Karen was comfortable once they had joined Matt and Foggy in their newly furnished conference room as the brunette lawyer pulled out a black leather rolling chair for their client. Amelia didn't even remember Matt or Foggy setting up the room. She guessed Tony had something to do with it. But, of course, Amelia would have to take credit so her friends didn't look into the fact that her famous adoptive brother, who happens to be Iron Man, basically gave them thousands of dollars worth of new furniture.

The dark room had been overcome by silence ever since Amelia had brought their client up to their floor before it was finally interrupted by the long haired man, Foggy, as he placed a navy blue ceramic tea cup onto the glass table in front of the emotional blonde. Foggy gave her a small smile as he told her in a gentle voice, "I couldn't find any milk. I hope it's okay."

"We have tea now?" Matt inquired as he took an unpacked box off of the cold table and placed it in the corner of the conference room before he felt the leather furniture and took a seat in the surprisingly comfortable rolling chair.

Foggy chuckled awkwardly before he murmured, "I stole it from the financial office next door," as he took a seat in the chair next to the man he was answering.

Amelia rolled her hazel eyes as she took a seat next to the blonde woman before she looked across at Foggy with an amused expression and told him in a teasingly voice, "of course you did, Franklin."

Matt ignored the joking between his two fellow lawyers and best friends as he looked in the direction of the fast beating heartbeat that just happened to be Karen Page's direction as he questioned softly, "how are you holding up?"

Karen ran her fingertip over the rim of the warm tea cup as she muttered simply, "better." She then glanced up as she looked between the three lawyers with a kind look in her sad blue eyes as she stated truthfully, "thanks for getting me out."

"Don't thank us just yet," Foggy told the blonde woman before he quickly explained as he didn't want to worry her too much, "they could still bring charges against you even though they released you."

Matt cleared his throat to get the attention of the blonde woman before he added to what Foggy had said in a serious and professional tone, "which means it's crucial you don't speak to anyone other than the three of us about what happened."

Karen stared at Matt for a silent moment as she studied his calm features before she looked back down to her warm tea that helped with the cold wind of New York. "I don't have anyone to talk to, anyway," Karen told the lawyers in a small voice as if she was embarrassed by her statement.

Amelia leaned the side of her head into her palm of her hand that was placed onto the glass table while she looked in Karen's direction with soft hazel eyes. "Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?" She gently questioned as she felt bad for the blonde woman. It's not an everyday occurrence for people that someone tries to frame them for murder when they have no support system. Well, not for normal people, anyway, unlike Amelia who had gone through that a few times in her life.

"My apartment's not far from here," Karen told Amelia as she took a quick glance over to the brunette before her blue eyes went right back to the navy tea cup as she watched the pale brown liquid slowly swirl around.

Foggy quickly shook his head before he informed Karen, "you can't go back there."

When the blonde woman began to look at them in confusion, Amelia lightly placed her hand on top of Karen's as she explained as softly as she could without causing the blonde anymore pain, "your apartment is a crime scene. Plus, whoever is after you will be coming back to try and finish the job."

Matt silently nodded his head as he agreed with Amelia before he told their client, "Miss Page, our immediate priority is to keep you safe." He then cleared his throat as he rubbed his hands together before he continued, "and in order to do that, we're gonna need to have a frank discussion."

Karen glanced between the three lawyer's serious expressions before she murmured, "okay."

"Do you know who's trying to kill you?" The Murdock lawyer questioned as he got straight to the point.

Karen slowly shook her head before she looked down to her now cold tea and mumbled out a quiet response, "no."

Amelia swiftly opened up her black leather purse as the interrogation began and pulled out a blue pen along with a small notebook before she began to write about how Karen didn't know the person who was trying to kill her as they needed to remember every detail if they were going to make sure Karen wouldn't get any jail time. "Do you know why they're trying to kill you?" Amelia questioned once she looked up from her notebook and looked over to their client.

The blonde woman stayed silent for a moment as many thoughts ran through her mind before she finally answered without hesitation and complete confidence, "yes."

Foggy leaned across the table and pressed the small 'play' button on the black Sony recording machine as they were finally getting somewhere. He gave Karen a small nod once Foggy heard the hum of the device as to tell her to continue before the conference room was overcome by silence as they waited for the blonde woman to tell her side.

Karen picked at her fingernails before she awkwardly cleared her throat and began to tell them the whole story like she had planned to do at the police station last night before they were interrupted by the two detectives, "I, uh, work -" Karen then swiftly shook her head before she corrected herself, "worked in the financial department at Union Allied." She pushed her messy blonde hair behind her right ear as she added, "they're overseeing the bulk of the government contracts for the West Side reconstruction."

Foggy nodded his head as he listened carefully and wrote small notes on his notepad before he commented, "I've seen their signs all over Hell's Kitchen."

Karen licked her pale chapped lips and swallowed thickly before she continued to speak about her now previous employer, "the last year have transformed the business." She then listed off some things she had seen in the past twelve months, "there's new owners, new grants, new contracts."

Amelia silently wrote down 'Alien invasion = U.A. work,' as she and the Avengers were the main reason for the big jobs the company Karen used to work for had been dealing with. "The world watched one of the largest cities in the world being ruined. They're is gonna be a lot of people that want to help," Amelia commented as she understood why Union Allied was getting lots of revenue for business and, of course, money.

"And Union Allied benefited from every dollar of it," Karen muttered under her breath as she was thinking exactly what the female lawyer was. "I was the secretary for the chief accountant," Karen stated as she continued to inform them of the people that were involved in the center of her case, "and one of my jobs was to coordinate the pension claims for the company."

The conference room and the recording machine grew silent once again for a couple of minutes before Karen picked up on her story as she explained, "about a week ago, I was emailed a file called; Pension Master." Karen shook her head before she commented nervously, "it must have been meant for my boss, but I made the mistake of opening it."

"I'm guessing it wasn't the pension fund," Matt suggested as he could tell by the tone of voice the blonde woman was using that held only disgust and fear.

Karen bit down on her bottom lip before she muttered in disbelief, "it wasn't the size of the pension fund. I couldn't believe the numbers. But it was still being designated as company pension." The blonde woman crossed her arms over her chest as she hugged the blue sweater closely before she explained, "it was constantly being adjusted. Money coming in and money going out."

Foggy lifted his head up from his notepad along with stopping the movement of his pen as he questioned with his brows furrowed, "going where?"

"I don't know," Karen whispered tiredly as she stared down at the glass table in front of her and down at the white and black sneakers on her feet. "It was coded routing numbers," she stated as that was the only thing she knew about the 'Pension Master', "but we are talking a lot of money."

"What did you do with the file?" Matt interrogated as each answer they got only led to confused expressions and more questions.

"Well, I told my boss, Mr. McClintock about it," Karen answered Matt's question before she explained, "but he just laughed it off. He said that it was a theoretical model that they were screwing around with." Karen shook her head as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair before she muttered, "I knew something was wrong." She glanced between the three lawyers as she defended herself, "I thought it was just him, you know? Embezzling or whatever."

Amelia flipped through her notebook once their client was finished talking about Union Allied and went to the page that was designated on the man who died in Karen's apartment. "So, how does Daniel Fisher fit into all of this?" Amelia questioned as she hadn't heard the man's name in any of Karen's story.

Karen's calm breathing came out shaky and erratic as soon as the name came out Amelia's mouth as she hadn't thought about him since she was almost killed in her sleep. The blonde woman squeezed her blue eyes shut for a moment before she finally responded, "Danny worked in the legal department."

Karen glanced over to the woman who had asked her the question with the smallest smile she could muster before she stated, "I didn't know him very well. But he was nice, so I asked him to meet me after work." Karen's blue eyes went back to her cold tea as she muttered, "I don't know how they knew. They must have people watching me. They must have people everywhere."

The blonde woman glanced back up to the three lawyers that were trying to help her as she told them in conclusion, "all I did was ask him for a drink and I start to tell him about what I found. But then things got blurry, like I was drugged. And the next thing I know, I'm waking up back in my apartment, covered in blood."

Karen's breathing swiftly got erratic once again as her heart began to pound painfully against her chest. "They killed him because of me," she whispered as tears clouded her blue eyes, "he had a family. A little boy."

However, without any warning, the blonde woman swiftly jumped up from the rolling chair and exclaimed hurriedly, "I need to get out of here." Karen only gave the lawyers a quick glance as she apologized, "I'm sorry," before she went to rush away from them.

At the fast movement of the blonde woman, Foggy quickly got up from his chair and stood in front of the door of the conference room. "We can't advise that, Miss Page," he stated as he gently placed his warm hands onto her shoulders as he hoped it would calm down their client.

"No, you don't understand," Karen cried out as she swiped the tears from her face. "Either you're with them or you're not," she emotionally stated, "and if you're with them, then I'm dead already." Karen shook her head as she quickly added before she got choked up, "and if you're not, then I cannot have anybody else die because of me."

Amelia stood up from her seat and leaned against the glass table as she stared at the blonde woman with sorrow in her hazel eyes. She shook her head as she told Karen, "we can protect ourselves. You are the one that needs to be protected, and we can help you."

Karen stayed in her position in front of Foggy as she only stared at the ground and mumbled slowly and tiredly, "no, you can't. Not from them."

"Miss Page," Foggy began as he tried to assure the woman that she was safe, however he was soon interrupted by the aforementioned woman as she whispered out a quiet, "no."

Amelia folded her arms across her chest as she watched the emotional woman. She shook her head and told Karen, "we can't advise you to go back to your apartment. It's just not safe." Amelia just had this bad feeling that something will happen if she goes back there. And her instinct has never been wrong before.

"Please!" Karen shouted before she quickly pushed her fists to her lips as sobs left her tired body. She slowly moved her hands to cover her face as tears poured down her face like a water stream before Karen leaned her body against Foggy's blue suit as he held her closely.

"She can stay with me," Matt stated in a quiet voice as the only sound in the conference room was the sound of Karen's crying and sobbing. However, when he only received silence from both Foggy and Amelia, Matt added, "just for tonight until we figure something out."

The other two defense attorneys glanced at each other with worried looks, but Amelia knew this was the best choice other than letting Karen stay with her in her secure apartment. But since Matt offered first, Amelia just silently agreed. Karen should be safe with Matt as no one from Union Allied knew that M.M.N. Associates was defending the blonde woman. So they should be fine for tonight until they could find a better solution.

Amelia Mansfield sighed tiredly as soon as she stepped foot inside of her apartment. She was exhausted from everything that happened today. From spending more than half of her day inside of a police station while trying to get Karen released along with the interrogation that went down at M.M.N. Associates. Amelia was just ready to eat some leftover takeout before falling asleep with her husky, Bucky.

The brunette lawyer kicked off the black heels from her feet and hung her purse onto the metal hanger that was right next to her door. Amelia learned her back against the door as she closed her eyes. "Lights," Amelia commanded loudly as she spoke to the familiar, A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S. When Amelia felt the heat from the lights, she opened up her hazel eyes before she instantly frowned when she saw a manila folder laying on the hardwood floor of her foyer.

Amelia took a few steps until she was standing in front of the folder. She bent down a gave Bucky a quick scratch behind his ear when he came up to her before she grabbed the folder from the floor. The brunette woman studied the outside of the folder carefully and the only thing that was there was a large 'A' written in black marker that was in the center of the folder.

Amelia came to the conclusion that someone slipped the manila folder under her door. She didn't really think it was that important, so Amelia tucked it under her arm before she made her way into her kitchen. Amelia swiftly grabbed her leftover chicken lo mein from the black refrigerator and a half full bottle red wine before she headed towards her living room.

The Mansfield woman took a seat onto her leather couch with Bucky watching her from his small red and black bed in the corner of the living room. Amelia opened up her takeout box and took a quick bite with the plastic fork that was seated on top of the noodles. The brunette woman moaned as she finally had food in her system before she grabbed the manila folder from her glass table in front of her.

Amelia sat her food beside her before she tore open the manila folder. Amelia's hazel eyes furrowed deeply when she realized there was only three medium sized pictures inside. She carefully pulled them out and noticed they were only pictures of her. The first one was taken last week, Amelia recalled as it was a picture of her and Pepper Potts, Amelia's close friend, eating together outside of Barbuto on Washington St.

The second picture was Amelia or Sergeant Viper entering Stark Tower with Natasha Romanoff or Black Widow, at midnight. Amelia remembered this moment instantly. It was right after they defeated Loki and the two women were going inside the tower to grab some of Amelia's clothes since she was going to stay with Natasha at her apartment.

And last but not least, the third picture was, once again, an image of Amelia. It was a shot from this morning when Amelia was walking Bucky down the street for his daily walk. There was nothing special inside of the picture, just Amelia and Bucky at six in the morning. The brunette woman didn't understand why someone would be taking pictures of her. Yeah, it would normal for Sergeant Viper, but no one even knew about her true identity except for the Avengers and the agents at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Amelia flipped the pictures of her as she looked for any type of clue from who's watching her. The only thing she did find was a small note on each picture. The first one of her and Pepper said, 'we'll be seeing each other soon.' The second one of Sergeant Viper said, 'you were never good at hiding your secrets.' And the third one said, 'no one will be able to save you, not even yourself.'

The brunette woman released a low growl at the threat being made towards her, even though she wasn't exactly sure who it is from. But Amelia knew that it was obviously from someone that she knew. It could be anyone seeing as Amelia has had plenty of enemies over the years. It could be someone from when she was in the Marines or someone who was in Operation Cerberus, someone she had dealt with while working with S.H.I.E.L.D. or even someone when she worked for her father's operations after high school. The list is enormous but that wasn't going to stop Amelia.

She has dealt with enemies her entire life, so it wasn't something new for her. Amelia was going to do what she always does when trouble finds her; she's going to fight it head on. She will either do it alone or with someone watching her back.

Amelia knew it is like Natasha had told her; there is no getting out of this life. The Mansfield woman just hoped as she stood up from her couch and headed towards the large bookshelf to the right of her before she pushed the button to her secret room that whoever was coming for her knew what they were up against. Amelia then headed towards the back of the room once she was inside and pushed in her four digit code along with her thumb print before she saw the items that she had tried to keep hidden from her new life as a lawyer.

It was her old Marine camouflage pants, a matching tank top, a green Kevlar jacket, and a dark green protective scarf that covered the bottom half of her face. Amelia also had another uniform that she would wear during missions. It consisted of a tight red leather Kevlar jacket, a black tank top, a pair of black leather pants, and a simple-looking black mask that Tony had made for her that has J.A.R.V.I.S. installed. Amelia, however, only wore the second one once she had joined the Avengers and the first one was what she would wear when she was in the Marines and would do missions for Operation Cerberus.

Amelia lightly trailed her fingers down the black mask with a small smirk on her face as adrenaline began to pump through her veins at the idea of someone thinking that they could just make threats towards her without any consequences. It was exactly like Natasha said. She couldn't forever turn the part of her off that liked to fight like a soldier. It would always come back - especially when threats are thrown her way. It's like a drug. She can't stop when it starts and that is exactly what Amelia was feeling as she stared across at her uniform with determination in her hazel eyes.

Ready or not, Sergeant Viper is coming for you and she's ready for war. 


	4. Chapter 3

The Mansfield woman let out a heavy sigh once she finally opened her apartment door with her fingerprint and released her Siberian Husky, Bucky, from his leash after their two mile run through Sunset Park, which immediately caused her small dog to run straight towards the kitchen and right to his food and water bowl. Amelia shook her head at Bucky and told him, "I'll be right there," before she took off her black and white sneakers and grabbed her mail that sat on the ground in front of her door.

Amelia slowly began to read through her stack of mail while she walked towards her kitchen. The lawyer usually didn't care much about her mail as her bills are always automatically taken out of her checking account. However, after Amelia received that package from an anonymous person that contained photos of her as Sergeant Viper and when she was out with her close friend; Pepper Potts, along with another one when she was walking Bucky, the brunette woman couldn't help but to be cautious and awaiting the next package from someone that obviously knew her.

However, Amelia frowned when she saw that there was no new package from this person that was basically threatening her. The Mansfield woman didn't even know who could possibly be sending her these secret pictures since it could be anyone that she has met. It could be someone that she angered while she was in the Marines or when she worked with her father, or even when she was working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Amelia has a list of enemies that could be doing this but she really wished that they would just show their face already. She hated all this cat-and-mouse games. It was annoying that she couldn't find this person since there was no way to track them. Amelia knew she just had to wait until they made their next move. It just irritated Amelia when she was finally moving on from that life and now someone is back from her past to mess it all up. Never a dull day, Amelia thought humorlessly as she tossed her mail onto the kitchen table.

The Mansfield woman headed to her black refrigerator, once she walked further into her kitchen, where she immediately grabbed a cold bottle of Smartwater and cracked it open. The exhausted Amelia downed half of the bottle of water before she poured the rest into Bucky's bowl. "There you go," Amelia murmured to her puppy as she watched Bucky hungrily drink down the water before she headed to the corner of her kitchen and grabbed a small package of dog food. The Mansfield woman then walked back over to her Husky and poured the dog food into his bowl before she tossed the plastic bag in the garbage.

Amelia then grabbed a banana from her kitchen table and sat down in one of the chairs once she made sure that Bucky was taken care of before she took a large bite. The Mansfield woman immediately let out a happy moan once the tasty fruit hit her tongue as she realized just how hungry she was after her run with Bucky. Amelia had barely touched her Chinese food last night after she got the package from her past so the banana was basically tasting like a five star dinner right about now. Once the Mansfield woman quickly finished her snack, Amelia let out a small sigh before she curiously asked the artificial intelligence as she didn't even know what hour it was, "what time is it, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"It is nine thirty seven in the morning, Ms. Mansfield," the familiar voice of Tony's most prized creation spoke in less than a minute after the lawyer asked the question - which instantly caused the aforementioned brunette woman's green eyes to widen before she swiftly jumped up from her seat at the large kitchen table.

"Crap," Amelia swore once she heard the time and quickly tossed the empty banana peel into the trashcan before she ran towards her bedroom and her bathroom. "Why am I always late?" The Mansfield woman questioned to herself as she had been late the first two days as an official lawyer before she hurriedly shed out of her sweatpants and crop top from her morning workout before she quickly jumped into the shower to erase all of the sweat on her body.

Amelia took the fastest shower that she could in less than ten minutes before she was wiping all of the water drops with her fluffy blue towel. The Mansfield woman then jogged straight towards her walk-in closet once she was dried, where she picked out her closest outfit that consisted of an ivory plaid dress and an off white coat. Amelia also picked up a pair of nude-colored heels and a matching leather purse before she finally exited out of her closet and rushed back to the bathroom. The rushing lawyer quickly dressed herself in her outfit of the day and quickly straightened out her brunette hair and also applying a thin layer of makeup before she rushed to the living room.

The Mansfield woman jogged to her leather couch and quickly grabbed her black purse that she was sporting yesterday before she grabbed the gun that Natasha had gifted her with and placed it inside of her nude-colored purse so that she would be packed for the day. Amelia then glanced down at her rose gold watch on her wrist and realized that she was cutting it close to ten in the morning. "I still got this," the lawyer mumbled to herself as she knew that she could make it to the office in fifteen minutes if she left now, so Amelia jogged towards her puppy and rubbed behind his ear and told Bucky, "I'll be home as soon as I can, buddy," before she swiftly rushed out of the front door of her apartment to officially began her day as Amelia Mansfield; the defense attorney of M.M.N. Associates.

Amelia released a thankful sigh once she finally entered the familiar ugly green-colored office space that held hers and her best friends' attorney business at exactly fifteen minutes after she left her apartment, where she saw that Foggy and Matt were in the conference room and they weren't out on a new case. It meant that they weren't busy and that she didn't miss anything too important. However, Amelia still felt bad that she wasn't on time, so the female defense attorney headed towards her best friends and opened the door before she quickly apologized, "I am so so sorry that I'm late."

The two men, Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock, both turned their attention towards the entrance of the conference room once they heard the familiar voice. Foggy shook his head in amusement as he saw his friend's reddened cheeks from obviously running through the chilly streets of Hell's Kitchen before he questioned with a sarcastic smile, "did you over sleep again?"

Amelia rolled her green eyes at her long haired friend before she exclaimed while she explained why she wasn't on time as she was not about to let Foggy Nelson tease or reprimand her like he did yesterday when she wasn't even late since they didn't have an office space at the time while she walked further into the conference room, "no, I didn't over sleep. I just lost track of time while Bucky and I were working out in the park."

A disgusted look immediately overtook Foggy's face before he muttered as if he was absolutely revolted by the Mansfield woman's usual morning activity along with the fact that Amelia mentioned that torturous dog that seems to hate his guts while a chilly shiver ran down his spin, "ew, gross. Exercise."

Matt let out a low chuckle at his best friend beside him before he curiously asked Amelia about her companion since he hadn't seen the fluffy pet in a couple of months from how busy they all have been in trying to find an office space and graduating from Colombia Law School, "how is Bucky doing?"

A smile instantly lifted up onto Amelia's face at the blind man's question as her puppy adores Matt. "He's great," the Mansfield woman answered before she told Matt, "but he misses you." The Siberian Husky and her best friend, Matt not Foggy, were like two peas in a pod. However, Bucky absolutely hated her long haired best friend; Foggy Nelson. The two just never gotten along - probably because Foggy was afraid that Bucky would eat his face off. But on the other hand, Matt and Bucky are very close. It always made Amelia intrigued when Bucky would run to Matt's feet instead of her own when she would invite her friend over for dinner or they would walk together through Hell's Kitchen.

The Murdock man nodded his head with a soft smile adoring his lips at the thought of the small puppy before he told his female best friend, "I'll have to join you two one morning." Matt let out a small chuckle before he corrected himself with a joke as he knew that he couldn't keep up with Amelia's rigorous workout routine, well that's what his friends thought, anyway, "but I think a walk would be better."

"He would absolutely love that," Amelia stated with complete certainty as she knew Bucky would be over the moon to see Matt again. The Mansfield woman then leaned her body against one of the rolling chairs for a moment as a silence overtook the conference room before she questioned as she realized that they weren't exactly busy, "so, what's on the docket today? Do we have a new case?"

"Nope," Foggy loudly groaned out before he picked up the stack of papers that was sitting in front of him and told Amelia what their day was going to be consisting of, "we are on paperwork duty." The Nelson man rolled his eyes as he mumbled to himself while he ran his fingers through his long hair, "I hate this part of the job."

Amelia furrowed her brows in confusion as she didn't understand why they would be doing paperwork when they still have a case with Ms. Karen Page. "What happened to our client?" The Mansfield woman inquired as the last thing she remembered from yesterday was the fact that the blonde woman was going to stay with Matt until they figured out who was trying to frame Karen for Daniel Fisher's murder and who hired the man that tried to kill her in her cell at the police station.

Foggy's eyes instantly widened in excitement at his friend's question before he hurriedly asked Amelia, "oh, my God! You didn't hear what happened?" Once Amelia shook her head with the same confusion in her green eyes, the Nelson man straightened up his stance in his seat before he gossiped to the brunette woman, "apparently the people that tried to have her killed went and attacked her last night but she was then saved by some maniac in a mask!"

The Mansfield woman took a seat at the glass conference table as she was immediately interested into Foggy's story about what happened last night. Amelia realized that was why she had so many calls from Foggy and Brett late last night but she had ignored it while she was trying to track her secret stalker. "Wait, what?" Amelia interrogated in puzzlement, "what exactly happened?" The brunette woman glanced over at Matt as she commented, "I thought she was with you last night."

Matt loudly cleared his throat before he murmured, "she was with me." The Murdock man let out a low sigh as he ran his fingers through his short hair in false distress before he explained to Amelia like he had done to Foggy late last night when word was getting around to what happened to Karen, "but after a few hours, she started to freak out. I thought I had calmed her down but when I woke up she was gone."

Foggy grabbed the newspaper that was sitting beside his now cold cup of coffee and tossed it across the table towards Amelia before he explained what happened after Karen left Matt's apartment, "the guy in the mask showed up at Karen's apartment right when she was there being attacked by who tried to kill her and the next thing I know I'm getting a call from the New York Bulletin for a quote on our client." Foggy shook his head with the same giggly smile on his face as he exclaimed, "our savior in the mask ended up delivering the attempted murder and the flash drive Karen had saved to the press and now our client is free of all charges!"

I missed a lot last night, Amelia thought after she listened to Foggy finish telling the story of their client while she scanned over the information on the cover of the New York Bulletin that had a large image of the guilty man. Amelia was mostly confused that she hadn't heard of this man in the mask as she knew that they could easily prove that Karen was innocent. "Who does this guy think he is, the caped crusader?" The Mansfield woman voiced her thoughts with a loud huff. I'm going to have to have a conversation with Fury about this, Amelia mentally reminded herself as she didn't like the idea of not knowing about this crusader or whatever he is going by running through Hell's Kitchen. Even though Amelia wasn't in the 'hero industry' any longer, she still would like to know about who was trying to take out the bad guys - especially when he saved their client.

The Nelson man let out a heavy laughter at his friend's comparison to the man that seemed to single handily turn in the guilty man that should have been charged all along instead of Karen and any of the information that could be used to incriminate their client. "Well, he doesn't wear a cape, so I'm thinking more on the lines of 'the masked crusader,'" Foggy countered Amelia's name that was reserved for Batman with his own that actually fit the person that helped Karen out.

"We should really get this paperwork finished before the DA shows up and we all know that won't be pretty," Matt quickly told his two best friends as he wanted to move off of the conversation of the man in the mask that happened to be him. The Murdock man didn't want to draw anymore attention to himself after he helped Karen. The last thing Matt wanted was for Foggy and Amelia to know the truth about what he did last night as it wasn't safe for them to ever know.

Amelia huffed out a loud sigh at the same time as Foggy did as she really didn't feel like filing paperwork today or ever. However, the Mansfield woman knew that there was no putting it off when they only had two pairs of eyes and one impatient DA. Amelia would rather hurry and finally finish this case so they could move on to their next client so the brunette lawyer grabbed the other stack of papers from the glass table and murmured, "it's not going to do itself."

The Mansfield woman glanced through the stack of papers in her hands and immediately realized that it would take most of her day, so Amelia gave her friends a small smile before she stated as she knew that she would need some peace and quiet if she was going to finish this all, "I'll be in my office if you guys need me." The brunette lawyer then shot Foggy a wink and told him, "good luck," before she turned around with her stack of papers and headed towards the suite office that belonged to her.

Amelia tossed her stack of papers about Karen Page's case down onto her desk as soon as she entered her office and closed the door behind her. "This is going to be a long day," the brunette woman mumbled as she glared across at the paperwork in disgust. This was one thing Amelia always hated - especially when she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent since she used have to write out her report by hand. Amelia was more a hands-on type of person so she always loved the missions but hated what came after and it seemed like being a lawyer, sadly, has the same layout with all the paperwork.

Amelia knew there was no getting out of it, though, so she grabbed a rubber band from her desk drawer and placed her brunette hair into a low ponytail before she psyched herself up, "let's do this." The Mansfield woman then shed her nude-colored heels and tossed her coat in the love seat that sat in the corner of her office before she took a seat at her desk. Amelia grabbed a black pen from the cup holder that held all her pens and pencils before she placed the stack of papers in front of her. However, before she could even begin, Amelia shook her head as she knew what she was missing.

The Mansfield woman placed her hand onto her globe and waited until the familiar blue light showed across her wall before she murmured, "J.A.R.V.I.S., can you please play my 'Iron Man Is The Best' playlist at a low volume?" Amelia couldn't help but roll her green eyes as soon as she uttered the name of her playlist that helps her work. I blame Tony, the brunette thought as she was the same as her unofficial adopted brother who has to have rock and roll music like Black Sabbath and Metallica when he's working.

"Certainly, Ms. Mansfield," the artificial intelligence responded in his familiar voice that Amelia always connected with home at the Stark Malibu mansion, where she spent years at before she also claimed the Stark Tower as her home once she joined the Avengers, before J.A.R.V.I.S. began Amelia's playlist that began with Daddy Rollin' Stone by The Blasters.

"Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.," Amelia praised before she turned her attention back onto the paperwork for M.M.N. Associate's client. The Mansfield woman scanned the first page and realized that she only needed to add her signature to seven different spots that basically said that she was one of the defense attorneys that defended Karen Page on the case of the murder of Daniel Fisher. Easy enough, Amelia thought once she signed her name several times before she moved onto the next page, which had basically the same setup except that it began to ask for details on the case and the procedures that she, Foggy, and Matt went through.

The Mansfield woman went through the same process with her playlist quietly playing in the background for about three hours before she heard her cell phone ringing inside of her off white coat. Amelia quickly tossed her pen to the side and rushed towards her love seat to grab her cell phone as she thought it might be Brett with information on another case. However, when Amelia reached her phone, she found it wasn't Brett but someone that she missed hanging with. "Pepper, hey!" Amelia immediately greeted her friend once she pressed the accept button on her phone and made her way back to her desk.

"Hey, Amy!" The strawberry blonde woman also known as Pepper Potts greeted her best friend once she heard the familiar voice before she quickly and nervously uttered as she didn't want to interrupt the new lawyer if she was in the middle of something important, "I hope I'm not distracting you while you're working."

"Oh, no, no. You're fine," Amelia quickly assured Pepper before she glared down at the half-stack of papers that the brunette lawyer hadn't finished yet with a look of disgust. "I'm just filling out paperwork now that our case is officially closed," the Mansfield woman explained with a loud groan as she leaned head in the palm of her hand.

"I bet you are hating that," Pepper uttered with a chuckle as she knew how Amelia can get with doing clerical work as she used to listen to the brunette woman complain over glasses of wine about how Amelia always thought Fury was punishing her by making her do her own paperwork. "But I'm glad that you already have your first case finished," Pepper added before a thought suddenly popped into her head. "We should celebrate your first win!" The strawberry blonde exclaimed, "I'm in the area, so if you're not too busy with your paperwork, let's go out for lunch."

Amelia's mood instantly brightened at the strawberry blonde's invitation as she was dying to leave the office for a while before she ended up stabbing herself with a pen to end her boredom. "You are a savior, Ms. Pepper Potts," the Mansfield woman expressed her gratitude with a heavy sigh before she got from her desk and slipped back into her nude-colored heels. "Where are you thinking for lunch?" Amelia wondered as she was really up for anything right about now.

The strawberry blonde woman thought for a moment about what she was craving while she glanced around the streets of New York from her position on top of the stairs in front of Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she had just finished having a meeting with a potential investor for Stark Industries and noticed a street cart selling sandwiches. "Oh, how about that sandwich shop down on Lexington Avenue?" Pepper inquired as she realized that she definitely craving a carb-filled sandwich.

Amelia furrowed her brows as she tried to think of what was on Lexington Avenue before she remembered the place; Untamed Sandwiches. "Yeah, that sounds good," the Mansfield woman affirmed to her friend as she held her cell phone with her ear and shoulder while she slipped on her off-white coat. Amelia knew it was the perfect place since it was only nine blocks away from the office, so it shouldn't take too long before she would be back to finish the rest of her paperwork.

Pepper nodded her head to herself with a small smile as she was glad that she was finally going to be able to see her friend that she hadn't seen in a couple of weeks because of how busy the brunette woman has been. "Alright," the strawberry blonde muttered before she stated as she walked down the stairs of the museum and headed towards Happy and the town car, "I'll probably beat you there since I'm only about ten minutes away."

Amelia grabbed her nude-colored purse from her desk and slipped it onto her left arm before she told her friend as she knew it would take her about twelve minutes to arrive at the sandwich shop from the 50 Street Subway Station, "I should only be a couple of minutes behind you." The Mansfield woman then opened the door to her office and turned off the light before she told Pepper while she closed the door behind her, "I see you soon, Peps."

Once the brunette woman heard Pepper give her a small farewell, Amelia placed her cell phone into her coat pocket before she made her way towards the conference room - where she found Foggy and Matt still in the room but now the Murdock man was slowly walking up and down the length of the glass table while the Nelson man had his head pointing towards the ceiling while he drummed his fingers against his chest. Amelia couldn't help but let out a heavy chuckle, which immediately alerted the men at her arrival, as she realized that she wasn't the only bored one.

"Please tell me you can finish the paperwork for me," Foggy desperately begged once he leveled his head and stared across at his female best friend as he pleaded with his puppy dog-like eyes. The Nelson man didn't even want to look at anymore paperwork that involved Karen Page's case as it was making his head hurt and they had ran out of coffee hours ago, so there went his motivation for finishing up the clerical side of being a lawyer.

Amelia let out a groan at the mention of the work that she still had unfinished on her desk before she told Foggy the bad news, "I'm only half of the way done with mine." The Mansfield woman pushed her nude-colored purse further up her shoulder before she told her two best friends the reason why she had made her presence known, "I'm going out for lunch with an old friend. I shouldn't be gone too long so we can finish up with all this paperwork as quickly as possible and get out of here."

The Murdock lawyer nodded his head with a small smile once he finally stopped walking around the conference room. "I think we can manage without you for a few hours," Matt assured the brunette woman before he placed his hand onto the Nelson man's shoulder and teased with a cheeky grin as he knew how miserable his partner had been all morning, "I'm sure Fog can handle the paperwork for now."

"Kiss my ass, Murdock," the long haired man groaned before he slammed his head down onto the aforementioned paperwork that will be the bane of his existence. Foggy felt like the papers were on a loop as they seemed to never end. He had been writing his signature and adding some details about the case since seven this morning and he was completely tired of it. "We need to hire an assistant," Foggy told the partners of their firm as he didn't know if he could handle the stress of filing out paperwork every time that they have a case.

Amelia and Matt both let out a heavy laughter at their complaining best friend before the brunette woman uttered to the exhausted Foggy, "I'll start looking into someone to help out." The Mansfield woman knew that her two best friends were basically broke and didn't have a billionaire adopted brother like she did, so she would happily look for an assistant to help out with their phone calls, when they got some, and with the paperwork. The clerical side of their job was just taking too much time when they could be out looking for a new client.

"Do you boys need me to pick something up while I'm out?" The Mansfield woman wondered once the conference room grew silent after they all agreed with the idea of getting an assistant to help them out. It was a cost-effective problem but they all knew that it would improve their firm by a lot since Matt could only answer Foggy's questions and it was just too much work for Foggy and Amelia to be doing when they are lawyers that should be out and helping people inside of wasting their time on writing out all the information of their case.

"Coffee," Matt and Foggy immediately uttered in unison as there was nothing in the world that they would rather have right now except for the heavenly caffeine that keeps them motivated and awake for boring and slow days like they were going through only on their second day as official lawyers.

Amelia let out a small chuckle before she assured the two men, "I'll pick up a couple of packages on my way back." The Mansfield woman was pleasantly surprised with how many packages of coffee that they had already went through. Amelia had brought three medium sized bags when they were first moving in all their furniture into their office space which also included a hi-tech coffee machine that Pepper had gifted to Amelia a year ago. We might need to bulk up, the brunette woman thought to herself as she knew that coffee was going go by extremely fast between three defense attorneys.

The Mansfield woman gave her two friends one last smile as she knew that she was running a bit behind to meet Pepper before she teasingly told Matt and Foggy, "have fun boys!" Amelia then swiftly turned around and exited out of the conference room with the two men's groaning trailing behind her. The brunette lawyer shook her head in amusement at her best friends as she could always count on Foggy and Matt to make her smile before she finally left their office room all together and made her way out of the building to go meet her best friend for lunch. 


	5. Chapter 4

Amelia jogged her way through the streets of Hell's Kitchen, once she exited out of her workplace, until she reached the 50 Street Subway Station that was only a couple of blocks down from M.M.N. Associates before she quickly swiped her card and easily found her spot closest to the door on the subway. Amelia was so thankful that she had arrived just in time or she would have to wait another twelve minutes until it would show up again.

The Mansfield woman then rode the subway for about thirteen minutes before it slowly came to a stop and she jumped right out and rushed up the stairs until she could see the above level of New York City. Amelia glanced around her for a moment before she immediately spotted Untamed Sandwiches that was diagonal to the subway station. However, Amelia didn't rush towards her strawberry blonde like she wanted as she spotted a familiar face sitting outside with Pepper. Of course he came too, the brunette woman thought with an eye roll before she quickly crossed the street and headed towards the outside seating area of the sandwich shop.

Pepper was the first one to stand up from the table since the person next to her was fuming to himself before she quickly pulled Amelia into a tight hug. "Oh, it's so good to finally see you in person again," the strawberry blonde gushed while she hugged the woman tightly as she had missed seeing her best friend's face everyday around Stark tower.

Amelia let out a small chuckle at the strawberry blonde before she murmured right back into their tight embrace, "I've missed you too, Peps." The Mansfield woman then turned her attention on the still fuming person that was lazily relaxed in the black steel chair with a raised eyebrow. "Well?" Amelia questioned with a hint of amusement in her voice, "aren't you gonna say hello?"

However, instead of the warm greeting from the man that she wanted and was expecting, Amelia received the same old words that she always got when they would meet somewhere. "Please for the love of God, let me hire you a driver so you don't have to take the subway," Tony Stark begged as he didn't see why Amelia was still using public transportation. "You are an Avenger for heaven's sake," Tony whispered the words before he muttered with an eye roll, "you are so damn stubborn, woman."

Amelia rolled her green eyes right back at her adopted brother and leaned over the table to place a kiss onto Tony's forehead before she teased him, "I wonder where I got that from." The Mansfield woman then took a seat at the table, where she finally noticed the three sets of plates that each held a BLT sandwich, potato chips, and a side salad. Amelia swiftly popped a salty chip into her mouth before she faced Tony and told him, "besides, I don't need a driver. I'm perfectly fine by myself." The brunette leaned in before she whispered, "I was Sergeant Viper for years, so I think I'll be safe if someone thinks it's okay to attack an innocent woman."

"Oh, please, Amelia," the brown eyed man muttered at her obvious lie before he stated, "you are anything but innocent with your sniper skills." Tony crossed his arms over his Black Sabbath t-shirt as he stared across at his adopted sister with a glare before he tried once more, "just let the guy drive you around for a couple of days." Tony quickly held up his finger when he saw Amelia was about to argue before he added, "if you don't like him then you can fire him yourself but just give it a shot." The billionaire popped a chip in his mouth like Amelia had done before he sincerely told her, "I know you can protect herself but it would make me feel better to know that you are safe here in Hell's Kitchen since you wouldn't stay in Manhattan with us."

The Mansfield lawyer stared into Tony's brown eyes for a moment before a loud sigh immediately escaped her mouth along with her body sagging in her seat. "You just had to pull out the guilt card, didn't you?" Amelia grumbled as she always felt bad for leaving Tony after all the things that he has done for her since she was twenty-three which consisted of getting her out of the family business and helping her get into Columbia Law School.

"So, does that mean it's a yes?" The Stark billionaire inquired with a hopeful gleam shining throughout his brown eyes. Tony knew it was low of him to bring up the one decision that Amelia had a hard time getting over by either taking a job in Manhattan at the best law firm or building her own in Hell's Kitchen with her friends as she always felt like she owed him something for helping her out. However, Tony knew that Amelia knew that he was actually fine with her decision since it kept her face out of the newspapers and magazines which kept her past from catching up to her.

Amelia rolled her green eyes at her adopted brother before she deadpanned in annoyance, "yes, Tony. I'll take this stupid driver of yours if it'll make you happy." The Mansfield woman would rather do anything in the world than have someone drive her around. She didn't like the idea of someone doing that for her as she have always liked to do things herself. However, if it would get Tony to shut up for once, Amelia would accept the driver... but that didn't mean that she follow the rules, though.

Tony clapped his hands together with a large grin shining across his lips and exclaimed, "great!" The man also known as Iron Man took a large bite out of his BLT sandwich before he told his adopted sister, "I'll go call Joey right now then and let him know to where he needs to pick you up." Tony groaned while he pointed towards the sandwich as he showed his approval for the small shop before he stood up from the table and placed a kiss onto the silent Pepper's lips and a kiss onto Amelia's forehead. "Oh, by the way," Tony began as he looked at Amelia before he rushed out, "Joey's also your bodyguard." The Stark billionaire then shot his adopted sister a smirk and quickly added before he took off down the street so Amelia couldn't hit him or back out of their deal, "have a fun day, girls!"

The Mansfield woman glared as she watched Tony run down the block and into a side street before she pushed her face into her hands with a loud groan. "How do you deal with that man everyday?" Amelia asked her best friend, who was currently living with the trouble-making-superhero.

"The same way we've always done it," Pepper told her friend with a soft chuckle before she explained after she took a small bite from her side salad, "but always having a drink in our hands." The two women immediately let out a laugh at Pepper's statement that was completely the truth as it's hard to deal with the Tony Stark without having a good supply of alcohol. "Anyways," Pepper began as she reached over and squeezed Amelia's hand before she told the lawyer, "you know he's just worried about you even though he won't admit it. He missed his sister."

A small smile lifted onto Amelia's face at Pepper's explanation for the brash Tony Stark before she murmured, "I know. I've missed him too." The Mansfield woman felt through all her resistant for this driver and bodyguard that she appreciated what Tony was doing for her. It meant a lot to her but she didn't really find it necessary since she could kill any man or woman that tried to attack her with her hands tied behind her back. However, Amelia decided that she would humor her adopted brother if it would make him feel better about her living in Hell's Kitchen.

"So, what's been going on with you, Ms. Potts?" The brunette lawyer questioned once she finally accepted Tony's help as she wanted to focus on her friend before she had to head back to work to the extremely boring paperwork. Amelia felt like it had been years since she last had a face to face conversation with the strawberry blonde - despite that they only live twenty-three blocks from each other.

Pepper quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin once she took a bite from her sandwich before she lightly shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, you know, busy trying to keep Tony in line," the strawberry blonde joked before she uttered seriously, "I've been traveling for Stark Industries to find the right investors and engineers for some new invention Tony wants to make." Pepper shook her head and waved her hand as she exclaimed, "I try to ignore all the science talk that I don't understand half the time."

Amelia's green eyes widened in excitement as she used to always love working on Tony's inventions with him when she lived at his place in Malibu and the Stark Tower. "Ooh, is it the Stark HUD 2020?" The Mansfield woman hurriedly questioned as she remembered her adopted brother was working on it when she was in her last year of Columbia Law School. Amelia and Tony had came up with the design soon after the Avengers Initiative was conducted by Fury and it was basically what is in Tony's suit with J.A.R.V.I.S. and geo-location services along with instant information about anything by simply looking at it through the glasses. Amelia knew Tony had a prototype made up in these thick and red sunglasses but they had been trying to put it into a smaller form so it would be easy for the Avengers or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to use. Amelia figured that is why Tony wanted investors to help with making a smaller version.

Pepper looked at the brunette woman with her strawberry blonde brows deeply furrowed as if Amelia was speaking a whole different language. The CEO of Stark Industries finally shook her head and muttered as she knew that she wouldn't be able to tell Amelia if that was what Tony is working on as she honestly didn't know, "let's go with that." Pepper let out a small chuckle before she asked her friend, "so, how is the lawyer thing going?"

Amelia gave the strawberry blonde a large grin as she knew Pepper's expertise wasn't in the science aspect of Stark Industries as that was more hers, Tony's, and Bruce's department. I'm going to have to stop by the Tower when I have some free time, the brunette woman mentally reminded herself as she wanted to see how the invention was going. Amelia then turned her attention back onto Pepper's question as she stated, "we're still on our first case since the miles of paperwork we have to go through to just turn it over to the DA, but I'm happy." Even though Amelia had been complaining nonstop all day, she really was happy like she told Pepper. She was finally living her dream and Amelia couldn't ask for anything better than her own law firm with her two best friends.

The strawberry blonde woman reached across the table and squeezed Amelia's lower arm with a proud smile shining across her pink lips. "I'm glad that you're finally truly happy, Amy," the CEO expressed as she knew how hard the defense attorney had worked ever since she showed up at Tony's place in Malibu looking for a new life.

"I really am happy," Amelia told her best friend before a blessed breath escaped her mouth. "I know I could still be an agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. but I really think this is where I belong," the brunette woman stated as she thought back to all the times that she fought Fury on quitting on him and focusing on her law career. Amelia believed that fighting in a courtroom for the innocent was where she was supposed to be. She had been a soldier all of her life, so the brunette woman felt like her being a lawyer was like a fresh breath of air in a dust storm as it made her feel like a normal person again.

"Well, you deserve it, Amy," the strawberry blonde exclaimed with a bright grin across her face. The two woman then sat there in a peaceful silence as they enjoyed their lunch together before Pepper murmured once she finished her sandwich, "I missed this." The CEO thought for a moment before an idea popped into her mind as she wanted to continue having moments like this with her friend. "We should meet at least once a month and do something fun by ourselves with no Tony or anything bothering us to relax and catch up," Pepper stated as she came up with the perfect plan to still be involved in her best friend's life.

Amelia nodded her head with a small smile before she commented, "I'd like that." The Mansfield woman could be herself with Foggy and Matt but it wasn't the same when she was around Pepper since the strawberry blonde knew her secret identity and her past life, so she could be a true self around the woman and that always made Amelia relaxed instead of having to be on guard with what she says. "My schedule is pretty random since I don't know when a case will come in, but just let me know when you aren't busy traveling for Stark Industries and we can set something up," the lawyer told Pepper as she really wanted to make their girls' day happen in the future, where they both could relax.

"I'll call you later this week after I look over my calendar and I'll see what days I have free," Pepper promised to her brunette friend as she wasn't sure when she would have a day off from being the CEO of Stark Industries. I'm sure Tony will give me a day off when it has to do with his sister, the strawberry blonde thought to herself as she knew Tony would do whatever it took to make sure Amelia was happy. Pepper had never seen anyone as close as the two heroes that had claimed each other as siblings. It's really sweet in Pepper's opinion since they both keep each other level headed from falling into a spiral of bad memories and alcohol.

"I could probably convince Tony to let us use his island in Jamai-" Amelia had began to tell her best friend about a trip they could make before something suddenly caught her attention from across the street that came in the form of a very attractive guy that the brunette lawyer had never seen before. "Woah," Amelia mumbled before she wondered as she stared at the unfamiliar, well-dressed man, "who's the hottie leaning against the blue 1962 Impala?"

Pepper quickly began to search around the streets in front Untamed Sandwiches before she finally locked her eyes on the only old school car that was around. The strawberry blonde's blue irises instantly widened when she saw the familiar man that had been at the Stark Tower a few times in the last couple of months. "Oh," Pepper murmured before she told Amelia, "that's Joey."

Amelia glanced over to her friend with a raised eyebrow as she was surprised that was who Tony had picked as her driver and bodyguard. "Wow," the brunette woman uttered before she wondered as she voiced her attractiveness to the man that she now knew as Joey, "my brother sure knows how to pick em, huh?"

Pepper couldn't help but roll her blue eyes with a small chuckle as her giggly friend, who obviously enjoying the fact that she would be having a hot guy follow her around and protect her at all times. "I see you have no problems with your bodyguard anymore," the strawberry blonde teased as she watched Amelia basically drool over Joey.

"Well, can you blame me?" Amelia inquired as she watched the man pull out a cigarette from his nicely straightened black suit before she finally tore her green irises off of the man that went by Joey. The brunette woman gave her friend a pointed look before she exclaimed, "you know if you weren't involved with Tony then you would be all over that, Peps."

The strawberry blonde woman lightly shrugged her shoulders and uttered, "maybe so." Pepper wasn't going to lie and say that she didn't find Joey attractive as she would have to be stupid to not see the man had a certain look about him that attracted attention from anyone that looked his way. The two women couldn't help but let out a small laugh as they both basically gossiped about the man before a bright grin instantly pulled onto Pepper's face as she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes before she hurriedly told her friend in a teasing voice , "look out, Mr. hottie is coming your way."

The Mansfield woman turned her head to the left just in time after she heard Pepper's warning and saw as the guy that Tony hired for her and her safety began to walk up onto the pavement of Untamed Sandwiches before he walked up towards their table. He's even more attractive up close and personal, Amelia couldn't help but comment to herself as she looked up and down the muscular man's body.

"It's nice to see you again, Pepper," the man politely uttered in his smooth but deep British accent once he was only a few feet away before he shook the strawberry blonde's awaiting hand. Joey then turned his attention onto the brunette woman after Pepper had uttered a small hello before he introduced himself to his new client, "I'm Joseph Russell but you may call me Joey like everyone else does. Tony hired me to be your personal driver to wherever you need to go and to be your bodyguard."

Amelia nodded her head as she already knew that information from her adopted brother before she shook the man's large and rough hand. "It's nice to meet you," the Mansfield woman politely and professionally uttered before she also introduced herself, even though she figured Joey already knew who she is since he's taking a job from Tony, "I'm Amelia Mansfield."

The calm and relaxed Mansfield woman and the serious and muscular Russell man stared directly at one another with only a few inches between them after their introductions like they were both testing each other before a small but barely noticeable smile lifted onto Joey's face once he realized that he wasn't going to get the usual reaction that he would receive from his clients which consisted of a nervous or scared look. However, Joey didn't think he would get one of those expressions from Amelia after Tony had mentioned that the woman in front of him used to be an agent for the famously known Government agency named S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Well, I'm going to take my exit now," the strawberry blonde woman exclaimed as she watched the interaction between her best friend and the British bodyguard for a few tense minutes before she stood up from the table and moved to stand beside Amelia. "I'll call you soon and pick a day for us to get together," Pepper promised as she pulled her friend into a tight hug.

Amelia gave the strawberry blonde a small smile once they pulled away from their embrace before she waved goodbye as she watched as Pepper made her way down to the town car that was located a few feet away - where she saw the familiar man that happens to be Tony and Pepper's driver; Happy Hogan. The brunette woman gave the older man a small wave along with a silent chuckle when she watched as Happy called out to her before he quickly got back into the black car. I'll have to say hello soon, Amelia reminded herself as she had missed spending time with Happy as he could always make her laugh.

The part time driver and part time bodyguard buttoned up his black suit and straightened it out before he cleared his throat to gain his newest client's attention once he watched as Pepper Potts had drove down the block and out of their view. "Is there somewhere you would like me to take you, Ms. Mansfield?" Joey professionally inquired as he knew he had a job to do.

Amelia swiftly flipped her hair over her shoulder when she turned back around and faced the man that Tony hired for her. The Mansfield woman glared at the man before she told him, "don't call me that. I'm not that old." It was bad enough that she would have someone follow her every move, so Amelia was not about to have this man call her by her last name like she was some old and fragile lady.

The man let out a small chuckle at the intense woman that Tony had mentioned wouldn't exactly want his help but didn't say anything right away. Instead he turned to the side and held out his arm as he pointed Amelia towards his 1962 Impala. Joey waited until Amelia walked ahead of him before he followed closely behind while he kept a lookout for anyone suspicious. Once they reached his car, Joey opened the backseat door but blocked Amelia's entrance before she could get in. "You are anything but old," Joey whispered as he glanced down at the brunette woman's body before he swiftly took a step back and let Amelia get into his car.

Amelia released a surprised breath once she had closed the door behind her as she was not expecting this muscular, British man to basically tease her like that. This is going to be fun, the brunette woman thought to herself as she could tell that Joey would be very entertaining by their recent interactions with each other. Amelia decided, now that she knew Joey wasn't a hard ass, that she would try to be nice so she slipped on her seat belt before she told her personal driver, "I need to make a quick stop at Fairway Market."

Joey nodded his head from the front seat as he started his Impala and began to drive down the streets of Brooklyn, New York to the grocery store that was only about a ten minute drive away. The Mansfield woman and the Russell man then rode in silence for a few minutes before Joey wondered as he raised his eyebrow through the rear view mirror, "what would you like to be called since you don't like to be called by your last name?"

The Mansfield woman barely had to think for a second before she told her personal driver as she usually only went by one of two names, unless she's really close to them, "you can call me Amelia or Amy." The brunette lawyer then shrugged her shoulders and told Joey, "whichever you prefer." Amelia glanced back up to her driver after a moment before she wondered, "you mentioned that your name is Joseph, so would you rather go by Joseph or Joey?"

Joey glanced back at the brunette woman through the small mirror before he silently focused back on the road for a minute. Once the Russell man didn't see any traffic in his way and he noticed the grocery store in his sights, Joey shot Amelia a tiny smirk before he copied what she had said to him, "whichever you prefer."

This man is really testing my patience, huh? Amelia thought as she squinted her green eyes at her personal driver before she added, well, two can play at this game. The Mansfield woman then shot Joey an innocent smile before she came to the conclusion at what she was going to call him by, "I think I'm going to call you Jojo from now on."

The man in front seat silently shook his head with a grin spread widely across his lips as he realized that this was not going to be like any other client that he has had before and that was definitely saying something since he used to be a bodyguard for the Prime Minister of France and for Carmine "The Snake" Persico of the Colombo crime family. I like the chase, though, Joey thought to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store as he knew Amelia was going to be a difficult client.

"I'll only be in there for five minutes," Amelia told her personal driver once the car came to a full stop before she grabbed her purse from beside her and opened up the backseat door to go pick up the coffee for M.M.N. Associates. However, before Amelia could get the chance to fully get out of the car, Joey was already waiting as he held the open door for her.

"My job is to keep you safe," Joey reminded her once he locked up his Impala and began to follow beside the fast walking brunette woman before he continued with his bodyguard speech to the lawyer that was obviously going to give him a hard time, "and that means you, Amelia, don't get to leave my side anytime soon."

Amelia couldn't help but roll her green eyes as she was already growing tired of her very large and muscular shadow. "I'm literally going into a public supermarket for coffee," the brunette woman exclaimed before she interrogated with a raised eyebrow once she glanced over at the Russell man, "what kind of trouble could I possibly find?"

Joey swiftly opened the door of Fairway Market and let the brunette woman walk in front of him before he told her while he followed Amelia down the tea and coffee aisle, "from the information that I've gathered about you, I'd say it would be very likely for you to find yourself in some type of trouble."

Amelia glanced up and over at the taller man with curiousness shining through her green eyes before she wondered, "and what is it that you know about me, Jojo?" The Mansfield woman was intrigued by what her lovely adopted brother, Tony Stark, could have told the man that would be watching her every move. Amelia figured that Tony would have mentioned some things like her involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. since it would be very suspicious for a normal woman from Hell's Kitchen to know Iron Man.

"I know that you were in the Marines straight out of high school and became the first female sniper in US military history," Joey began as he watched as the brunette woman picked up four large light brown packages of coffee. "I also know that you worked under Director Fury until a couple of months ago when you built your own law business from the ground up with a Mr. Foggy Nelson and a Mr. Matthew Murdock," Joey concluded his summary about what he had learned from Tony and from his own personal research of his client.

The Mansfield lawyer squinted her green eyes at the taller man as they stood in the middle of the empty aisle between the coffees and teas before she interrogated, "and is that all you know about me?" Amelia needed to know if she could trust this man as for all she knew, Joey could be the one sending her the photos and secret messages to her apartment that no one should know about.

Joey crossed his thick and muscular arms over his chest on top of his straightened black tie as he stared down at the brunette woman before he told Amelia the bare minimum of the truth in his emotionless and professional voice, "I know what is needed for me to be able to do my job and keep you safe."

That's not very helpful, Amelia thought since there could be a million of different things that her new bodyguard could know about her. "What did I do for Director Fury?" The Mansfield woman questioned as she took a step closer towards Joey as she needed to know all the facts that her new bodyguard has. If she was going to allow this man to follow her around, Amelia needed to know if she would have to keep her guard up and hide parts of her away.

"You were an agent that worked along side Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers or as everyone knows them as the Black Widow and Captain America," Joey immediately answered as he had studied the brunette woman's file ever since Tony had offered him this job a few months ago. "You are Tony Stark's adopted sister but there are no records of this and you didn't show up until 2009," Joey continued as he decided to give Amelia the answer that she was searching for, "there is no information about Amelia Mansfield before that year. However, Tony had explained that you were off the grid for years until you resurfaced at the age of twenty-three and I have no reason to not believe that to be true."

Hmm, Amelia thought as she was still wary of the man in front of him since he knew the fact that she didn't actually exist before she showed up in Malibu and Tony had helped her get away from her past. No one was supposed to know that she had changed her name except for Director Fury, Agent Coulson, and Tony Stark - along with the Avengers, so Amelia didn't like that Joey Russell, someone that she knew nothing about, knew that about her. "What are your credentials for Tony Stark to hire you for his sister?" Amelia interrogated after a moment of silence as she needed to know something about this man before she did her own research.

"I'm currently working for the CIA," Joey answered his client's question as he knew that he needed to gain her trust so this partnership would go over more smoothly like Tony had mentioned since Amelia Mansfield doesn't trust easily. "I originally started my career with the British Army before moving to the Secret Intelligence Service after becoming the Lieutenant General," Joey continued to explain his credentials for such an important client like ex-agent and Avenger turned lawyer.

Amelia raised an eyebrow at the man and mumbled, "impressive," before she walked passed the CIA agent and headed towards the cashier at Fairway Market. The Mansfield woman then paid for her bags of coffee for the caffeine addicted lawyers while she felt Joey breathing down her neck before she took her leave and headed back to Impala with the man, of course, only a foot away from her.

Once the Mansfield woman and the Russell man was back inside of the old school vehicle, Joey started up his car and backed out of the parking lot in complete silence before he glanced back at the woman behind him and inquired their next destination, "where would you like me to take you, Amelia?"

A small smile lifted onto Amelia's face at the fact that the agent was finally calling her by her name. Good, Amelia thought before she added in her head with a smirk, but I'm still calling you Jojo. The Mansfield woman then lifted her head between the two front seats before she gave her bodyguard the address to the building where M.M.N Associates is located since she didn't need to make anymore stops.

The 1962 Impala stayed silent after Amelia had gave the man the address as she began her research on the Stark tablet that she had in her large nude colored leather purse about the man in front of her. Amelia trusted Tony with her life but she didn't like not knowing who would be following her around. It would put her at peace, so Amelia hacked into the British Intelligence Agency and began her search on all things Joseph Russell to know if he has a secret past like she did.

Widower. Wife was murdered by his twin brother when he was nineteen, Amelia listed off on the side of her tablet with a pen as she read the information about her new bodyguard. Huh, Amelia hummed before she thought as she had her share of a deceased-almost-spouse, maybe we aren't that different.

The Mansfield woman then clicked onto a different link before she continued to read and added another note to the Stark device, he has a one year old son named Reginald. He lives with his grandmother in Estonia for protection. The mother, Petra Hansen, double crossed him for information to give to the Norwegian Intelligence Agency. Joseph moved to the United States and joined the CIA after he killed the double agent for trying to expose S.I.S. secrets. Amelia silently nodded her head as she read more into Joey's personal and profession history before she clicked onto another link and added a small note, he offers his protection services as well as working with the American government. Mr. Russell's clientele has been important people across the world ~ prime minsters, presidents, royal families, mobsters, etc.

Amelia then went to hack into the CIA database to see what cases her new bodyguard had worked on and to see who he has worked with previously. However, though, before the defense attorney could enter the secret entrance for CIA agents, she was interrupted when the Impala suddenly came to a stop before Joey told the Mansfield woman in a mumble, "here we are."

Amelia glanced outside the window from the light that shined on her Stark tablet before she saw that they were in fact right in front of the old building that held the newly built company of M.M.N. Associates. The Mansfield woman released a silent sigh as she locked her tablet as she knew that she had to quit her research for now. It was just getting interesting, Amelia pouted to herself as she was very intrigued about the man in the drivers seat. However, Amelia knew that she had to go upstairs, so she slipped her tablet back into her leather purse before she exited out of the Impala.

Once the defense attorney was standing outside the dark street of Hell's Kitchen, Amelia fixed the strap of her bag on her off-white coat before she faced her bodyguard, who was exiting out of the old school vehicle. "You can leave," the Mansfield lawyer told Joey with a raised eyebrow as she didn't see why she would need a bodyguard when she would be in the office until she walked home that wasn't really far away.

The CIA agent immediately shook his head as he locked up his car before he walked after Amelia, who was walking towards the entrance of the building. "My job is to keep you safe and I cannot do that if I can't see you," Joey explained to the difficult lawyer about the reason why he wasn't going to leave like she had asked.

Amelia let out a heavy groan and rolled her green eyes before she swiftly faced the bodyguard with annoyance shining across her face. The Mansfield woman stared at Joey for a few tense moments before she curiously wondered, "when the hell do you sleep then?" Amelia honestly was confused about this whole bodyguard thing since it seemed like Joey didn't plan on giving her any privacy at all.

"Once I know you are secured inside of your apartment is when I will leave like Tony instructed me to do so," Joey answered the brunette woman's question. "I will be alerted to when your door is used with the thumb print, so I will know when to meet you and that is how it will go for now on," the bodyguard added as he opened the front door of the old building for Amelia with a small smile.

The Mansfield woman rolled her eyes, once again, while she mentally cursed Tony Stark for going through all this just to keep her safe. It wasn't like she couldn't protect herself, so it just annoyed her that she was going to have a shadow constantly following her. However, if she knew Tony Stark, then she knew that she wasn't going to be able to get rid of Joey anytime soon, so Amelia released a heavy sigh before she mumbled, "fine."

The lawyer and the CIA agent then silently walked into the old building once they were in agreement before they rode up the elevator. Amelia watched the numbers tick away but when there was only one floor left until they would reach M.M.N Associates, the Mansfield woman turned to the side, so she was staring up at Joey. The defense attorney then pointed at the tall man before she told him, "my friends don't need to know that I have a bodyguard, so for now on you are an old friend from London that decided to move to New York."

The sound of the elevator stopping rung throughout the small metal box before Joey gave his client a small nod and simply told her, "yes, ma'am." The CIA agent knew that it was best to keep it a secret that he was a bodyguard for the brunette woman since it would just draw more attention to Amelia and they all didn't need that.

Amelia shot the man a glare at the way he addressed like she was an old woman before she rolled her green eyes when she noticed the smirk playing on his lips. "Shut it," the Mansfield woman muttered with annoyance before she walked down to the door that was labeled for M.M.N. Associates and walked inside with her lovely bodyguard following closely behind.

The Mansfield woman glanced around the waiting room of her and her friends' business before she heard voices coming from the break room that just has a small table and a couple of chairs. Amelia figured that is where her best friends were located, so she walked into the room before she quickly apologized, "I am so sorry I'm late." The lawyer then lifted up the plastic bag from Fairway Market before she exclaimed, "but I brought lots of coffee."

The Nelson lawyer's eyes immediately widened when he saw the bag of caffeinated goodness before he swiftly jumped from his seat and grabbed the plastic bag. "You are a Godsend," Foggy praised and placed a quick and friendly kiss to Amelia's temple before he took the bag and brought it over to the coffee machine.

Amelia chuckled at her long haired friend before she looked over to Matt, who was twitching his head to the side. "Oh!" The brunette woman exclaimed as she realized why Matt was doing that before she told her two fellow lawyers, "guys, this is my friend, Joseph, from England. He's going to be staying in New York for a while, so I was showing him around."

The Murdock man's shoulders slightly relaxed once he knew who was in the room before a small smile pulled up onto his lips. "It's nice to meet you, Joseph," the blind lawyer commented as he looked in the direction of his best friend's voice.

"You must have the best patience in the world if you went looking around New York with this one," Foggy joked as he passed between the suited man and his close friend before he walked back to the small table with a fresh cup of coffee cradled in his hands.

Amelia rolled her green eyes at her best friend's jab towards her and muttered, "oh, shut it, Franklin." The Mansfield woman then went to open her mouth to ask if they finished the rest of the paperwork for their first client. However, before she could even get the question out of her mouth, their aforementioned client walked into the room with a metal tray in her hands.

"Oh!" Karen gaped when she noticed the missing lawyer. The blonde woman then quickly composed herself and shot Amelia a bright grin before she told her, "it's nice to see you again, Amelia." The innocent blonde shook the tray in her hand before she explained why she was at the office this late, "I wanted to thank you guys for all that you've done for me."

Amelia gave the blonde woman a polite smile and uttered, "that's very kind of you." The Mansfield lawyer then watched as Karen walked towards the small break room table and towards her two best friends, where Amelia finally noticed that the small table was actually set up for dinner with paper plates, plastic silverware, and coffee cups.

"Hey," the Russell bodyguard quietly whispered to Amelia with a light touch to her shoulder to gain her attention while the other people in the room were distracted for the moment. "I'll be outside until you're ready to leave," Joey told his client since he could tell that there was no danger for Amelia to be alone with her friends in their workplace.

The Mansfield lawyer nodded her head with a thankful smile as she was glad that she was going to actually be able to relax with her best friends and their nice client that Amelia had grown to like. Amelia then watched as Joey silently took his exit before she finally walked into the break room, where she immediately smelled something delicious. The brunette woman took her seat next to both of Matt and Foggy before she glanced into the tray that Karen was setting on the table and noticed what she had brought. "Ooh, il mio preferito," [Ooh, my favorite.] Amelia commented in Italian when she saw it was eggplant parmesan.

Matt and Foggy both looked over in Amelia's direction when they heard their best friend speak a language other than English. "You know Italian, too?" The Murdock man curiously wondered while the Nelson man asked in disbelief, "what don't we know about you?" The Nelson lawyer felt they were learning all new things about their associate like when they found out that Amelia had been in the Marines.

Amelia shrugged her shoulders as she was indifferent before she took off her warm coat. "I took it when I was high school and it just always stuck," the Mansfield woman told her best friends. Amelia hadn't exactly told the truth, though. She did take Italian in high school but that wasn't the reason for why she is fluent in Italian. If they knew her real last name; D'Antoni, they would understand that she was a descendant from an Italian family.

The break room grew silent after that as Foggy and Matt realized that it made sense for why Amelia could speak Italian like they could understand a little bit of Spanish from their own high school education. The silence then was broken when the blonde woman grabbed a plastic spatula and told the group of lawyers, "so, I know it's not much in the way of repayment but it is, um, my grandmother's recipe." Karen let out a small chuckle as she began to place a heavy portion of eggplant parmesan on each plate before she uttered, "and she made me promise only to serve it to my future husband."

The group of lawyers all let out a set of small chuckles at the blonde woman's explanation of her repayment in food before Karen awkwardly scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment to her confession and mumbled what her grandmother would always tell her, "you know, it's like, filled with virtue or something."

A large and amused grin lifted onto the Murdock man's lips before he teased the blonde woman as he leaned over the small table and down to his plate of food to smell the meal, "I thought I detected a whiff of virtue in there."

Amelia shook her head at her best friend before she shot Karen a bright smile. "What he means to say is that we are very grateful for this meal and it was our pleasure to help out your case," the Mansfield lawyer told the blushing blonde. Amelia was really starting to like Karen as she brought one of the meals Amelia's mother used to make before she died. It was like Amelia was back in Long Island and in her childhood years.

"Not that I'm complaining," the Nelson lawyer mumbled with a mouth full of delicious Italian food before he wiped the edge of his lips and turned his attention onto Karen. "But you really should be thanking the nut in the mask," Foggy told their past client as he recalled last night when the guy in the mask had turned the men that were trying to kill Karen over to the New York Bulletin along with the flash drive that proved Karen's innocence in the murder of Daniel Fisher.

A small frown lifted onto the Page woman's pale lips before she shook her head as she disagreed with Foggy. "He's not a nut," Karen mumbled as she defended the man that had saved her. The blonde woman then lightly shrugged her shoulders when the lawyers only stared at her before she uttered, "I mean, he's a little weird, maybe."

"Well, we're just glad you're okay," the Murdock lawyer told Karen with a kind smile before she could continue with her rambling about the man in the mask. Matt would rather move as far away from that topic as possible as he didn't need anyone, especially his friends, to figure out who really is under the mask.

"Hear, hear!" The Nelson man loudly exclaimed as he swiftly popped the cork off of the five dollar bottle of red wine that he got from the convenient store that was at the end of the street before he began to pour the blood colored liquid into the four empty coffee cups to go with their dinner.

Karen shot the defense attorneys a thankful smile before she murmured as she began to cut through the crunchy outer layer of the crusted eggplant, "if it weren't for the three of you, I'd still be in that cell." The Page woman could still feel that chill running down her body from those itchy clothes and the uncomfortable bed at the police station.

"Oh, please," Amelia exclaimed as she lightly waved her hand and took a sip of her wine. "We wouldn't have left you in there any longer when we knew the truth about the case," the Mansfield woman told Karen with a friendly smile before she added, "we knew you were innocent all along, so we just did what was right."

"Amy's right," the Murdock man mumbled with a nod of his head as he agreed with the brunette woman before he stated, "job's easy when your client's innocent." Matt then shot a smile in the blonde woman's direction to calm Karen's fast heart rate and nerves before he softly concluded, "all you did was tell the truth."

Karen looked directly across at the man beside her with the dark sunglasses with a brighter and calmer smile before she murmured, "yeah, but you listened." The Page woman felt like she was indebted to the three lawyers as she had imagined that she would spend the rest of her life behind bars or even dead by how many people were out to get her and that flash drive.

The three lawyers and the newly innocent woman began to eat in a comfortable silence with their plastic silverware and the fantastic Italian food before a thought suddenly popped into the long haired man's mind. "Oh," Foggy gaped before he pointed at Karen with his fork and told her with an easy smile, "don't get us wrong, but we're still gonna bill you." The Nelson man then glanced over to Amelia with a wide grin before he told the blonde woman, "just as soon as we figure out how to make bills."

Amelia couldn't help but roll her green eyes at the long haired man before she told him with a small chuckle, "oh, you are so unprepared for life." The Mansfield woman knew Foggy was only half serious as that was just his personality since she had taught him how to make bills and send documents during the first week after they graduated from Columbia Law School.

Karen quickly covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn't spit out her food as she giggled at the two lawyers and obvious friends before she glanced around the room while she finished chewing her food. "I did notice that you could use some help around here," the Page woman politely commented to not offend the lawyers. Karen then anxiously played with her fingers before she quietly offered, "and I owe you guys, so maybe I could clean the place up a bit."

That's not a bad offer, Amelia thought as she stared at the blonde woman. It wasn't like she could keep taking all the furniture that Tony keeps sending her since it would be suspicious to why they had thousands of dollars worth of furniture in a cheap building in Hell's Kitchen. Amelia also couldn't accept anymore of Tony's help like with the moving company to fix up the place. It would be better for them to do it themselves and it would be a lot of help if Karen was willing to pitch in as a payment for their services.

The Murdock lawyer glanced around M.M.N. Associates, even though he couldn't exactly see besides shapes, with his brows furrowed underneath his dark sunglasses before he faced Karen. "Is this place messy?" Matt curiously wondered with the twitch of his head and a hint of confusion and humor in his voice.

The four adults couldn't help but let out small laughs at the teasing from Matt before the long haired man immediately turned serious and pointed his plastic knife at the blonde woman. "Our firm is very prestigious and discerning, Miss Page," Foggy told their now ex-client before he swallowed another bite of eggplant before he inquired in his professional voice, "do you have any prior experience hiding electrical cords up in ceiling tiles?"

Karen nervously bit down on her pale pink bottom lip as she had no idea how to do that before she mumbled, "uh, no." However, when Foggy ended up cracking, she let out a small chuckle before she told the three lawyers as she knew it was what they wanted to hear by how their office space looked and the fact that she was their first and only client, "but I'll work for free."

The three lawyers ended up joining the blonde woman in laughing before Matt pointed his plastic fork at Karen like Foggy had done with his knife. "Yeah, you're hired!" The Murdock man swiftly exclaimed as that was their best deal and Karen was just like them. Karen Page didn't have anyone in her life that she could depend on and Matt knew he, Amelia, and Foggy could be that for her.

Foggy looked over to Amelia and shot her a wide and an excited grin before he told her, "it looks like we found our new assistant after all." The Nelson man had remembered the conversation that they had this afternoon about Amelia looking into someone coming in to help them, so Foggy was glad that Karen had offered along with the fact that she would do it for free.

"It seems so," Amelia murmured with a small smile as she was happy that she wouldn't have to find someone to come help them as she didn't know when she would have the time. The Mansfield woman then silently faced the two other people at the table before she raised her glass of red wine and held it up to the middle of the table. "A toast," Amelia stated before the three other people pushed their coffee cups against hers before Amelia stared across at Karen and proposed, "a toast to you. Welcome to our small family, Karen."

The four adults clinked their coffee cups together before they all took a small sip of their red wine as they toasted to the newest employee of M.M.N Associates. "Thank you," Karen uttered as she was the first one to speak after they placed their cups back down onto the table. Karen then brushed her blonde hair behind her left ear before she expressed her gratitude, "I can't thank you guys enough for all the help and letting me stay." The Page woman shook her head with a sad smile as she murmured, "I-I don't have any family in New York, so t-thank you."

Amelia reached across the table and placed her hand lightly over the emotional Karen's before she softly uttered, "of course." She shot the blonde woman a wink before she teased which caused them to all break out into a happy and relaxed laughter, "well, you're stuck with us now."

The Mansfield woman knew right then and there that Karen was going to be the perfect fit in their ragtag group of lawyers. The Page woman was just lost, afraid, and didn't know where she belonged right now and Amelia could totally relate to how Karen was feeling. Amelia was just like that when she was forced to leave the Marines thanks to Vincent D'Antoni, her father, along with the fact that after she came home to Long Island, she found out that her father had her fiancee killed because D'Antoni soldiers don't fall in love which caused Amelia to hate and to not want to work for her father anymore. However, the final straw was when her father had sent her to Malibu, California to kill her now adopted brother; Tony Stark. 


	6. Chapter 5

The soft clicking sound alerted Amelia that her fingerprint was verified before she opened up the front door of her apartment. The Mansfield woman had just gotten home from one of her weekly meals with Brett and Mrs. Mahoney like she usually does. M.M.N. Associates hadn't had a client in over a week since Karen, so Amelia had spent all morning, afternoon, and most of the night helping Mrs. Mahoney prepare food and hanging out with the son and mother duo until it turned eight o'clock and Brett had to get to his night shift at the police station.

Amelia now just wanted to put on some comfortable sweats and cuddle up with her puppy, Bucky, for the rest of the night. However, though, the brunette's plan was instantly thrown out of the window when the Mansfield woman slipped out of her black heels and noticed another manila folder waiting for her like last week when she learned that someone was basically following her around.

The Mansfield lawyer let out a growl as she swiftly snatched the folder from the ground at the threshold of her apartment before she headed to her living room - after she grabbed the half bottle of Russian vodka that she and Natasha shared the other week. Amelia then folded her black slacks covered legs once she took a seat on the leather couch and popped open the alcohol bottle before she took a heavy gulp as she prepared herself to what she would find this time in the anonymous folder.

Amelia let out a heavy sigh as the vodka went smoothly down her throat before she placed the bottle onto the glass table in front of her. However, before Amelia could turn her attention onto the folder, she paused with a small smile when she saw Bucky watching her at the end of the couch. "Hey, Buckaroo," the brunette woman greeted her puppy before she lifted the Husky onto her lap. Amelia rubbed her fingers through her puppy's fluffy hair for a few calm minutes before the energetic Bucky hopped off of her lap and placed his nose onto her thigh.

The Mansfield lawyer watched Bucky fall asleep against her slacks for a few minutes with a soft chuckle. Amelia couldn't help but it be thankful every time that she felt herself relax when Bucky was around her. It was the best decision that she made in the last year. It had been Steve's idea after the Avengers had defeated Loki and his army. Amelia had started to get PTSD once everything was over as it reminded her of the time when she was in the Marines, so Steve suggested for her to get her a dog and it has helped so much. Amelia was honestly surprised how much the small puppy had helped her through the trauma, but the brunette woman couldn't be anymore happier that she took that leap.

Amelia shook her head after a few more minutes of watching Bucky before she turned her attention onto the anonymous folder. "Let's see what you have this week," the brunette woman mumbled to herself before she opened the folder and noticed only one photograph this time around. Amelia carefully pulled out the picture with her brows furrowed before she examined it. The photo wasn't anything bad for Amelia to be confused. It was the fact that it was a picture of a familiar abandoned building.

It was a closed business in Harlem that her father used to own when she was a teenager. Vincent D'Antoni, Amelia's father, is a notorious mobster in Long Island, who she had escaped from five years ago, so it made the brunette woman extremely anxious that someone was sending her an image from her past life. Amelia had done everything to stop her family from finding her, like changing her name and staying out of the news along with Tony and Fury faking her death.

Amelia knew now that whoever was sending her these folders was someone that knew the D'Antoni crime family. However, that didn't really narrow it down any when her family has lots of associates and enemies. The Mansfield woman wasn't going to let that stop her, though, now that she has a clue to who could been sending her these folders. Amelia was tired of getting them, so she swiftly stood up from her couch, without bothering Bucky, and headed towards her bedroom.

The Mansfield woman headed towards her overly large closet and quickly slipped on a pair of ankle high leather boots as she wasn't going to go investigating in heels. Amelia then walked further into her closet once she had her shoes on before she pushed back the thick fur coats out of the way, where she instantly noticed the two double doors to the secret room that Tony had made for her.

Amelia placed her thumb onto the keypad like she has on her front door before she pushed her way into the secret room. The Mansfield woman originally didn't want Tony to build the room when she first moved into the apartment as she never planned on going back to her old life as an assassin or an Avenger. However, as Amelia walked to the back wall that was lined with weapons, she was glad that Tony didn't listen to her.

It felt scarily natural for Amelia as she grabbed a slick glock gun from the wall and stuck it in the back of her slacks and slipped a dagger into her right boot. Natasha was right, the brunette woman thought to herself as she couldn't help herself but get back into the groove of things like when she was involved in the assassin life. That feeling of wanting to figure something out and handle it herself was always there for Amelia and it was extremely strong now that she knew someone from her past was leaving her files and photographs.

The Mansfield woman took a deep breath as she glanced around the large but hidden room that had all types of weapons, technology, and gadgets. It was the first time that Amelia had been in the room since the Avengers defeated Loki. Amelia just prayed that this would only be an one time thing or she might as well accept Fury's deal as she knew it was hard to put this life behind her when she had been involved since she was nineteen.

Amelia silently nodded her head as she reminded herself that this was just to find her stalker and nothing else before she forced herself out of the hidden room. The brunette woman made sure the door closed behind her and pushed the coats back in place before she headed back to the living room. Amelia quickly walked towards her leather couch and lightly ran her fingers through Bucky's hair as she promised, "mama will be back soon, buddy." The lawyer then grabbed the picture from the glass table along with her leather side purse before she swiftly marched through the front door of her apartment with an expression of nothing but business shining across her face.

The Mansfield woman took the elevator to the bottom floor of her apartment building, which took a few minutes since she was on the top floor, before she swiftly walked out into the dark night of Hell's Kitchen. However, before Amelia could head to the subway station to get to Harlem, she instantly came to a pause when she saw her bodyguard, Joseph, leaning against his blue muscle car.

Amelia crossed her arms over her stripped blouse as she walked in front of the tall man with a raised eyebrow. "What are you still doing here?" The Mansfield woman inquired as she had seen the blue car drive off once she had entered the apartment building only twenty minutes ago after her dinner with Brett and Mrs. Mahoney.

The CIA agent held up his cell phone in the air and shook it before he explained to the brunette woman why he was in front of her apartment building, "I got an alert." Joseph then stuck the device back into his dress pants when Amelia rolled her eyes before he crossed his arms over his chest as he copied Amelia's stance and questioned, "I thought you were in for the night. What are you doing back out?"

Amelia stared across at the English man for a moment before she released a sigh as she knew that she might as well tell him what is going on since she wouldn't be able to get rid of him and he would just slow her down if he didn't understand what she was doing. "I've been getting anonymous messages from someone in my past these last two weeks," the Mansfield woman quietly explained before she passed the photo to Joseph and added, "I finally got a clue tonight."

The Russell man cautiously took the photograph from Amelia's hand before he carefully looked at the image. Joseph, however, frowned when he didn't recognize the location. "Do you know where this is?" The CIA agent inquired once he handed the photograph back to the Mansfield woman.

Amelia nodded her head as she bit down on her bottom lip while she gazed down at the familiar but run down building. "It's in Harlem," the Mansfield lawyer stated before she commented, "if you are really good at your job, then you know my father is an important man in Long Island." Once Amelia saw Joseph nod his head as he affirmed her thoughts, she explained how she knew that information about the photograph, "my family used to own this place when I was a teenager. We were the only ones that owned it over the years before my father gave it up when there was an accident."

Joseph nodded his head as he remembered reading about the accident when he first started looking into his new client. "Your mother death," the CIA agent mumbled, mostly to himself, as his mind went back to article of how the children's indoor center was blown up that caused Nancy D'Antoni's death along with three small children's.

The Mansfield woman briefly closed her green eyes and took a deep breath as she always hated thinking about her mother's death since she was always the one innocent person in the whole D'Antoni family, who didn't deserve to die because of a war her father had been involved in. Finally, after a moment once Amelia got control of her emotions, she opened her eyes and mumbled, "yeah." The Mansfield woman then shook her head and looked up at Joseph before she told him, "I was going to go look at the place to see if I can find anything that can help me figure out who is sending me these photographs and notes."

The Russell man carefully watched the brunette woman as he had noticed how stiff and physically emotional she became at the mention of her mother. They must have had a close relationship, Joseph mentally noted as he had seen that not much effected Amelia over the time that he has been with her.

"Do you need me to call in some contacts at the CIA to look into this?" Joseph inquired as he opened the back door of his blue vehicle to let Amelia into the car as he wasn't even going to give the brunette woman a chance to argue about letting him drive her to the abandoned building. The Russell man leaned down to look into Amelia's green irises once she was settled in the backseat before he suggested with a raised eyebrow when he remembered how influential the person that hired him could be, "or I could call Tony since he probably could figure all this out the fastest."

Amelia immediately shook her head at the thought of calling her adopted brother for help. The brunette woman knew how Tony would react if someone from her past had found her as he tends to get a little bit overprotective. Amelia knew that Tony would end up shipping her to some random country to protect her since he knew about everything that she went through as a teenager and a young adult. "I'd rather handle this in house," the Mansfield woman told the confused-looking agent in a calm voice so she wouldn't alert Joseph to call Tony. The lawyer then gave the man an assuring smile before she added, "I want to be sure before I give him a call."

Joseph slowly nodded his head as he carefully and silently watched the brunette woman's facial expressions. The CIA agent didn't understand why Amelia didn't want to call Tony or why she hadn't already. Joseph knew of the close sibling relationship between the two former Avengers and how they are both equally protective over one another. However, the Russell man decided to do it Amelia's way until he knows for sure someone is looking to harm is client. "Very well," Joseph murmured as he voiced his acceptance in the brunette woman's plan before he inquired, "so, where in Harlem are we going?"

Amelia settled into the backseat on the 1962 Impala with a tired sigh as she just wanted to relax with her companion in the form of her puppy but she knew that wasn't possible when someone from her past was letting themselves be known in her new life. The Mansfield woman most definitely wasn't going to let the stalking continue any longer, so she waited until Joseph was in the car before she told him the address with determination in her green irises at the thought of finally catching her stalker, "2116 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard."

The Russell man only gave the determined woman a small nod and a quiet, "okay," before he pulled out of the street in front of the Stark apartment building and headed North towards Harlem. It took the duo about twenty-seven minutes to get through the usual traffic of Hell's Kitchen before Joseph slowly drove downtown in Harlem, where he instantly spotted the only abandoned building for miles.

"You can stop here," Amelia instructed the man as she spoke for the first time since they had been in the car when Joseph was in front of her deceased mother's pride and joy. Amelia had been lost in her thoughts about who could be coming back from her past life and why they had decided to use things connected to her mother. However, sadly, Amelia didn't exactly get anywhere since there was hundreds of people that could have done this. At least I can rule out any Marines, the Mansfield woman reminded herself while she slipped her black purse over her shoulder and exited out of the vehicle as no one knew about her family's crime business. Well, except for her commanding officer but Amelia didn't see any reason for Ray Schoonover to personally attack her like this when he taught her basically all she knows when she was younger.

"You ready for this?" The Russell man cautiously asked his client, who he had noticed was very stiff, once they had silently walked down the long grassy pathway in front of the old abandoned indoor children's center.

Amelia took a deep breath as she prepared herself for what she would find in the place that she hadn't entered since she was seventeen before she gave Joseph a small nod. The Mansfield woman never liked coming here but she knew that she had to if she ever wanted to know who was behind all the secrets messages, so Amelia took another deep breath and welcomed in that assassin monster back to the surface with a deadly expression. It was a technique that the brunette woman mastered over the years when she was in the Marines and then when she teamed up with Natasha once she joined S.H.I.E.L.D while in law school. It just awakens the demon when she shuts off her mind and prepares for war like she was still that heartless assassin for her father when she got back from the Marines and her fiance was killed - but that is a story for another day.

Once Amelia was ready like the dedicated assassin that she always would be, the brunette woman placed her right hand at the back of her slacks and silently pulled out her weapon of choice - the slick glock. The Mansfield woman then opened up her black purse and grabbed a small flashlight and scope, which made herself, that she always had with her before she turned it on and locked it in place on top of her gun.

However, before Amelia could enter the abandoned building, the CIA agent rose an eyebrow at the brunette woman and inquired, "why do you have a gun?" Joseph had been watching Amelia for a few minutes as she moved in soldier-like movements while she cocked her weapon, checked for bullets, and placing the flashlight and scope on top.

The Mansfield woman glanced over to Joseph, who, obviously, also had his weapon drawn since he's supposed to be her 'protector', before she carelessly shrugged her shoulders and uttered, "you can never be too careful." Amelia then shot the CIA agent a small smirk before she added, "besides, you know what I did for a living. It's a force of habit."

Joseph amusingly shook his head with a small chuckle as he knew that was the truth from his own experience in the Military and now the Central Intelligence Agency. The Russell man then held out his hand in a waving motion towards the barley standing door of the children's indoor center before he told Amelia, "well, ladies first."

"Don't mind if I do," Amelia cockily muttered as that old persona of an assassin began to creep back into her mind. The Mansfield woman then rose her weapon until it was leveled with her green irises before she kicked in the door with her right black ankle boot. The ex-assassin and the CIA agent immediately entered the building once there wasn't anything blocking their way before they went their separate ways as they searched the abandoned building for any clues about Amelia's stalker.

The abandoned children's indoor center, previously named Sunny Paradise in its heyday, was a large and colorful two story building, so the Mansfield woman and the Russell man silently decided to split up with a nod of their heads as they knew it would take them at least a couple of hours to look through the whole place if they did it together.

The CIA agent was the one to take charge of the situation like he was used to as he silently headed up the stairs to the second story while the defense attorney stayed downstairs in her deceased mother's old business before they both began to search for any clues about who could be sending Amelia the anonymous letters and photographs. The abandoned building was silent during their investigation - besides the sounds of doors being slammed open and furniture being turned over.

However, unfortunately, after about forty minutes of searching through every single room and closet downstairs of Sunny Paradise, Amelia couldn't find a single thing that would help her understand who from her past was trying to get her attention. It frustrated the brunette woman as she hated not being able to figure this out - especially since when she was still an agent with S.H.I.E.L.D., she was one of the very best with a level nine clearance, so not being able to find anything, it made Amelia feel rusty and she absolutely hated that feeling.

The Mansfield woman's annoyed and frustrated mood, thankfully, didn't get the chance to last that much longer because after a minute or two of Amelia sulking, the CIA agent from upstairs called out to her. "Hey, Amelia!" The bodyguard shouted from inside of a large room before he told her, "you're gonna want to see this."

Amelia's interest was instantly piqued when she heard the Russell man's voice before she swiftly jogged up the broken and old staircase as she prayed the man had found something. The Mansfield woman checked each room as she tried to find Joseph but she quickly paused when she only had one left - the one that she was hoping to avoid. It was the room that Nancy D'Antoni, Amelia's mother, was murdered in.

The brunette woman took a deep breath as she briefly closed her green eyes while she prepared herself since she only been in the room once since her mother's death before she slowly entered the office that her mother used to spend so much time in. Amelia tried to avoid looking at anything that would cause old emotions to resurface as she looked directly at Joseph before she asked him, "what did you find?"

Joseph didn't say anything as he wasn't sure how Amelia would react to his findings. Instead, he only nodded his head towards the bay window that was now covered in wooden boards, where the CIA agent had found something that he knew the Mansfield woman needed to see for herself.

Amelia immediately felt her body freeze when she realized where Joseph was trying to point her towards. It was the last place on Earth that the brunette woman wanted to look as it was the spot where her mother had died. Amelia remembered it like it was yesterday when her brutal father gave her details of what happened when she was sixteen so she would understand that it was time to join the family business and fight for the D'Antoni family name. Amelia could still hear her father's heartless words as he described how one of the local mobs in New York wanted a large portion into their gun business but her father, Vincent, had said no - which caused the mob to retaliate by shooting off a bazooka right into her mother's office and ultimately killing her innocent mother and a few small children.

The Mansfield woman quickly shook away those nightmare thoughts that always haunt her mind when she would think of her mother once she heard Joseph clear his throat before she swiftly placed that emotionless demon back on the forefront of her mind as she stood up straight like a soldier and walked across the room towards the boarded up window. Amelia then swiftly tore the knife in the wood out that was holding an envelope before she caught it with her other hand before the envelope could fall to the ground.

The ex-assassin slowly opened up the envelope with the weapon still in her hand before she pulled out a folded up piece of paper. Amelia let out a sigh at the sight of another letter before she opened it and quietly read it out loud as she figured that Joseph was already involved, anyway, "nice try, Ameliana, but I'm not gonna make this easy for you."

The Mansfield woman couldn't help but roll her green eyes at the letter as the person was just taunting her. Amelia knew that she should have realized this was another trick if they gave her a photograph of a familiar place. It still annoyed the brunette woman, though, as she didn't like these games, so she angrily tossed the envelope, the letter, and the knife onto the ground before she went to storm out.

However, before Amelia could even lift her black boots from the ground, she suddenly heard the sound of metal clinking against the ruined floors that definitely didn't sound like the heavy knife. The Mansfield woman was intrigued by the sound, even though she was so tired of these games, so she bent down and picked the envelope back up before she looked inside.

Amelia felt herself instantly freeze once she looked inside and saw what the clinking sound had been. It was her mother's wedding ring. The brunette woman shakily pulled out the silver ring that had a large diamond stone in the middle as the repressed emotions began to fill her mind instead of that assassin demon she tried to keep in the forefront of her brain. This was one of the reasons why Amelia always tried to not think about her past life. Nancy D'Antoni meant so much to Amelia that over the years, her mother had always been her biggest weakness. It was something that her father used to use against her when she wouldn't listen to him while growing up into a D'Antoni soldier at the young age of sixteen.

"They are attacking your emotions," the loud voice of Joseph Russell told the physically and emotionally shaken brunette woman as he had watched her movements and reactions during the whole time that Amelia had been in the room that her mother died in. The CIA agent quietly walked to stand in front of the brunette woman before he continued as he tried to get Amelia out of these emotions and to think clearly, "they know about your close relationship with your mother and they are targeting that so you will slip up."

Amelia tightly squeezed her mother's ring in her fist before she growled out, "I know." They sure know how to piss me off, the brunette woman bitterly thought as everyone from her past life in Long Island and in the D'Antoni crime family along with the soldiers knew that her mother was an off limits topic. Amelia had gone as far as to shoot one of her father's close associates point blank when she was seventeen after he had badmouthed her mother.

Nancy D'Antoni was a literal saint. The then thirty-five year old woman was Amelia's hero through and through. Amelia had always been a momma's girl while she was growing up since her father was basically a drill sergeant with the way that he treated her and his soldiers in the D'Antoni crime family. Nancy was the complete opposite of Amelia's father, so she suppose that was the reason why she looked up to her mother while growing up. Nancy D'Antoni was like the rainbow after a rainstorm. She actually treated Amelia like a child and showed her love unlike her father. Amelia hated growing up in the D'Antoni family for that reason - because of how her father treated her like one of his soldiers and he was always hard on her to join the business.

However, that hate Amelia felt when she was fifteen and younger, all turned to acceptance that this was what she needed to do for her family after the one person that protected and made her actually happy was killed. Nancy D'Antoni's death had changed the sixteen year old Amelia and it wasn't for the better. It made Amelia feel like that there was no way out of their family and there was no point in fighting it any longer. So, once Vincent, her father, told her about the death of her mother in very descriptive words, Amelia turned cold and became her father's second hand man by the time she turned seventeen.

Amelia had made just as many enemies as her father's second hand man as he did during those three years in Long Island and after she got back from the Marines and started back up for another year. The thought of how many people had tried to kill her through her life was hundreds and that definitely didn't help Amelia while she paced the room as she tried to think who from her past would be trying to get her attention.

The office space in the abandoned Sunny Paradise stayed silent for a tense three minutes as Amelia was lost in her thoughts about the possibilities of her stalker and the depressing thoughts of her childhood before, finally, Joseph spoke up as he suggested, "you know, if this is connected to your past, maybe we should go see Tony - " However, though, before the CIA agent could continue or Amelia could shut down his idea, there was suddenly the noise of a cell phone ringing.

Thank you, cell phone, Amelia silently praised while she opened up her black Gucci purse as she didn't want to have this conversation again about telling her adopted brother everything that has happened in the last two weeks with her stalker. Amelia knew that Tony would just go overboard. The brunette woman also didn't want to involve Tony in any of her mess since it was someone from her past. She always felt guilty whenever they would speak about her old life as Ameliana Rose D'Antoni since the last mission as her father's second hand man was to kill Tony. The brunette lawyer would rather handle this all on her own since it was her own mess that she alone needed to clean up.

The Mansfield woman finally found her cell phone just as it was going to the fourth ring before she swiftly lifted the device up to her face. Amelia immediately frowned, though, when she didn't recognize the phone number. However, the brunette woman's face then immediately hardened at the thought of her stalker as she figured this was just another one of their games to mess with her.

Amelia squeezed her fist around her mother's wedding ring, once again, before she swiftly pressed the accept button on her cell phone with a deadly look in her green eyes at the thought of finally killing the person who was taunting Amelia with her mother. The brunette woman then brought the device to her ear before she practically growled through her clenched teeth, "who is this?"

However, the other person on the line wasn't who Amelia thought and wanted it to be. Instead, of the anonymous stalker that was sending the brunette woman on a wild goose chase, it was the newly free Karen Page. "U-Uh, hey, Amelia," the nervous blonde mumbled into her device at the hard voice that came from the usually kind lawyer before she quickly added, "i-it's Karen. Karen Page."

The Mansfield woman immediately cringed at herself when she heard the obviously afraid voice of her and M.M.N Associates' former client and new assistant. Oops, Amelia thought while she waved off Joseph, who was worriedly and tensely looking at her, before the brunette woman relaxed her body as she made her way out of her mother's office once she knew that she wasn't going to find anything else tonight from her stalker. Amelia then placed on her usual calm attitude that she shows to people in Hell's Kitchen that don't know her past before she greeted the blonde woman through her device, "oh, hey, Karen!" The defense attorney didn't want Karen to be afraid of her so she further went on as she kindly asked, "how are you doing?"

The blonde woman on the other end of the line was still quite nervous as she didn't know if she disturbed Amelia or caught her at a bad time, so she timidly responded, "I-I'm fine." Karen ran her fingers nervously through her long hair while she took a deep breath before she apologized, "I'm sorry I'm calling so late but I found your number written down on the receptionist desk."

Amelia silently nodded her head in understanding while she headed down the stairs of the abandoned building as she remembered that she, Foggy, and Matt had their numbers written down in case Karen would need them when they weren't at the office. "Oh, no, you're fine," the brunette woman assured Karen before she explained, "I was in the city, anyways, so you aren't bothering me."

Amelia instantly took a deep breath once she was outside in the cool air of Harlem and out of her deceased mother's old business as she felt like she could finally relax before she focused back onto her phone call with a sense of calmness surrounding her. "Was there something you needed, Karen?" The Mansfield woman curiously asked before she wondered, "are you still at the office?"

The Page woman let out a nervous chuckle as she looked around herself in the silent M.M.N. Associates before she mumbled, "uh, yeah, I am." Karen anxiously ran her fingers through her messy blonde hair, once again, as she explained why she was still at the office this late, "I was just unpacking the rest of the things that you guys had boxed up in the conference room."

Amelia shook her head in amusement at the blonde woman before she teasingly asked Karen while she waited for Joseph to come to the car, "you know you can leave when we do, right?" The Mansfield woman let out a small chuckle as she assured the blonde, "those boxes will be there in the morning," before she commented softly as she knew how stressed Karen must be lately, "you should go home and relax for once."

Karen briefly closed her blue eyes at the thought of going home before she hurriedly mumbled as she pushed those nightmares away, "ah, that's actually why I called." The Page woman nervously bit down on her bottom lip for a moment as she was worried of getting rejected and having to really go to her apartment before Karen finally just sucked up her fears and asked, "do you might want to go and have a drink with me?"

The Mansfield woman couldn't help but furrow her brows at the invite from the blonde. Amelia didn't mind going out with Karen, she would love to, it was the fact that the Page woman was calling her at ten o'clock at night with anxiousness quaking throughout her voice. However, Amelia could use some girl time since Pepper has been extremely busy lately to get her mind off of her past along with the fact that she could probably figure out what was going on with Karen and help her out if she needed anything.

"Yeah, of course," the Mansfield woman responded to the blonde on the other end of the line as she watched Joseph head towards her way against the blue Impala. "We usually go to Josie's but since it'll be just us girls, I think I know just the place," Amelia explained to Karen before she told the blue eyed woman the location, "it's on 52nd street. It's called Ardesia Wine Bar."

A thankful breath instantly released Karen's mouth that was barely hearable through her cell phone as she was glad that she had an excuse to not go home yet. "That sounds good," the Page woman commented as she gathered up her purse before she told the lawyer, "I'm only a few minutes away, so I'll meet you there."

"Oh, take your time," the Mansfield woman told Karen as she nodded her head at Joseph before she slipped into the blue Impala. "I'm about a twenty minute drive away but I'll be there as soon as I can," Amelia explained to why she didn't want Karen to rush as Amelia didn't want to have the blonde woman to have to stand around and wait for her in the cold.

"O-Oh," Karen stuttered while her shoulders slumped as she really just needed someone to talk to right now. The blonde woman then quickly fixed her emotions as she placed her purse back onto the table in the conference room. "I'll just finish with the last box I was working on. We'll be probably arriving at the same time," Karen told the brunette lawyer as she figured that it would give her enough time to finish unpacking the large box and arrive at the bar.

Amelia nodded her head to herself before she commented, "that'll work." The Mansfield woman then told Karen that she would be there as quickly as she could and said goodbye before they both canceled the call after they had a plan to drink. Amelia then placed her cell phone back into her purse once she knew the call was disconnected before Amelia turned her attention onto Joseph, who was looking at her through the rear view mirror.

"I need a ride uptown to 52nd street," Amelia informed the curious CIA agent once she leaned her body between the two front seats. The Mansfield woman then lifted an eyebrow at the tall man before she inquired in a teasing voice as she loved to mess with the stone-like agent, "can you handle that?"

Joseph immediately rolled his blue eyes at the taunting woman behind him as he started up his 1962 Impala. The Russell man pulled away from the abandoned building that was also known as Sunny Paradise and headed towards Manhattan before he taunted right back with something that would obviously bother Amelia, "right way, Ms. Mansfield."

Amelia couldn't help but let out a loud groan as she thought that they were past that by now before she grumbled as she turned her green eyes out to the night sky of Harlem, "oh, just drive, Jojo." The Mansfield woman, however, couldn't help the small smile that reached her lips when she heard Joseph let out a small laugh as she could feel herself relaxing with the agent. Amelia didn't know if it was because they were so similar with their history or what, but Amelia liked that she could feel like herself with someone that wasn't Tony or the Avengers for once.


	7. Girl Time

It, thankfully, only took Amelia about fifteen minutes to arrive outside of Ardesia Wine Bar instead of the long twenty minutes like she had told Karen from her location in Harlem. She figured it was because most people in New York were either already inside the hundreds of bars around the city or they were some, not many, who were actually resting in the city that never sleeps.

The Mansfield woman gave Joseph a small nod when he opened the backdoor for her before she slowly slipped out of the Impala. Amelia then flattened out her stripped blouse once she was standing in the dark but brightly lit street of Hell's Kitchen before she turned her attention onto the CIA agent who was standing beside her. "I'm meeting up with a friend and I don't know how long I will be gone but for the love of God, please stay out of sight," Amelia commanded as the last thing that she wanted was for everyone to find out that Joseph was actually her bodyguard instead of her friend like she had told Foggy and Matt.

Joseph shot the brunette woman a cocky smirk as he looked down at her short stature before he questioned with a hint of amusement in his voice, "what? Are you embarrassed of me?"

Amelia stared directly into the Russell man's blue eyes with zero emotion in her green ones before she deadpanned, "yes, I am." The Mansfield woman then let out a chuckle when the strong and emotionless man actually had the audacity to pout before she pushed against his surprisingly hard chest. "Now, scram," Amelia commanded.

The Russell man rolled his blue eyes at the brunette lawyer, who was trying to get rid of him once again for the tenth time this week, before he reminded her like he always does when they go their separate ways, "I'll be close by."

Amelia waved her hand carelessly and mumbled, "yeah, yeah, yeah." She didn't even see any reason for Joseph to stay when she was just having a drink along with the fact that she can protect herself just fine but she decided to not complain like she usually would. Instead, Amelia fixed her black purse over her shoulder before she headed towards the bar, where she instantly spotted the familiar blonde woman.

"Karen, hey!" The Mansfield woman called out as she tried to get the blonde woman's attention after she had quickly jogged across the street before she came to a stop in front of M.M.N. Associates' new assistant. "I'm sorry if you've been waiting on me for too long," Amelia commented as she wasn't sure if Karen had stayed at the office like she had said or came straight here.

The blonde woman practically jumped out of her skin when she heard someone call out her name before she relaxed and released a breath of relief when she only saw it was Amelia. "Oh, hey, Amelia," the nervous blonde mumbled before she reminded herself to relax and that no one was after her. "I've only been here for a minute or two," Karen promised the worried brunette with a small smile once she felt her body calm down from her usual nerves of someone trying to kill her again.

Amelia shot the blonde woman a wide grin as she was glad that Karen hadn't been waiting in the chilly night of Hell's Kitchen before she pointed her right hand towards the door of their destination; Ardesia Wine Bar. "You ready to go in?" The Mansfield woman wondered with a friendly smile plastered across her lips.

Karen nodded her head with her own smile as she was just ready to have a drink in her hand and forget her thoughts for a couple of hours before she murmured to the brunette woman, "after you."

The Mansfield woman briefly squeezed Karen's lower arm before she swiftly turned around and headed towards the entrance of the familiar place with the blonde woman trying to keep up with her quick pace. Amelia thanked the man that held the door open for the both of them before she and Karen entered the establishment that was busy like it usually was during the night shift.

The defense attorney and the newly cleared blonde barely had anytime to set foot into the lively establishment before a loud and cheery voice of the owner called out, "ah, Amelia, darling!" The owner, Mandy Oser, swiftly pulled the familiar brunette woman into her arms for a moment before she exclaimed once they pulled away from each other, "it is so good to see you again!"

Amelia gave the brunette woman a friendly smile and murmured, "it's good to see you as well, Mandy." The Mansfield lawyer had met the owner of Ardesia Wine Bar a few years ago at one of Tony's many parties at the tower and they instantly became friends over their love for alcohol. Amelia always tried to come in at least once a month to show her support for the local Hell's Kitchen bar along to see someone that is actually normal away from her superhero friends.

"I was happy to hear that you graduated law school a few weeks ago," Mandy told her friend before she pouted and commented, "I'm sorry that I couldn't come to the ceremony but we had a catered event for the CEO of Smoak Enterprises." The owner of the wine bar then smiled brightly at the lawyer before she asked, "but did you get the bottle of 1947 Chenin Blanc I had sent over to your apartment? It was my way of congratulating and apologizing for missing your big day."

Amelia let out a small chuckle at the bubbly brunette woman, who was always jumping for one emotion to another, before she gave Mandy a small smile. "I completely understand," the Mansfield woman assured Mandy as she knew how busy Ardesia Wine Bar can get - if it was any indication that Iron Man frequented the place. Amelia lightly placed her hand onto the owner's lower arm before she continued with a polite smile, "and yes, I did get the bottle of wine. It was absolutely perfect. It made me feel like I was in the winery in France."

Mandy shot the lawyer a wide grin as she was glad that Amelia had enjoyed her gift before she exclaimed with her widened brown eyes, "we must visit the winery soon, darling. You just need to tell me and I will make the call to our distributor."

The Mansfield woman gave the excited brunette a polite smile as she was used to Mandy and her excitement before she promised with a small nod of her head, "you will be the first one I call when I need a break." Amelia really did plan on keeping that promise as she knew by all the stress from keeping M.M.N. Associates afloat and all the drama with her past life that she was going to need a break or two.

Mandy let out a small squeal of excitement before she exclaimed as it had been awhile since she and Amelia hanged out, "perfect." The owner of Ardesia Wine Bar then pulled out the professional side of her as she remembered that she was at work before she informed Amelia, "we have your table in the back already prepared for you like you requested."

Amelia gave the owner of the wine bar a thankful nod and a smile to show her praise. The Mansfield woman had called while she was in the car on her way back to Hell's Kitchen as she knew how busy the bar can be and she didn't want to get there and there was no where to sit. However, Amelia wasn't that surprised that she got a reservation since she had her own private room. It was something that Tony had requested for his adopted sister during the first meeting between Amelia and Mandy to make sure his sister was happy.

"I can take you there now if you are ready," the owner of the wine bar told the defense attorney with her professional voice that she used with all of her guests.

"Thank you, Mandy," the Mansfield woman uttered to show her praise as she really did want a glass of wine right about now. However, though, before Amelia could follow after the owner, she suddenly remembered who was with her. "Oh!" Amelia exclaimed before she told the brunette woman, "I would like you to meet a friend of mine."

Amelia pointed her hand over to the blonde woman beside her as she introduced M.M.N. Associates' newest employee, "this is Karen Page." The defense attorney then pointed her hand over to the brunette before she told the blonde beside her, "and, Karen, this is the owner of the bar, Mandy Oser."

The Page woman let a nervous smile cover her lips when everyone's attention was solely on her before she politely and quickly held out her hand as a greeting to the bubbly brunette and softly murmured, "it's nice to meet you, Mandy."

The owner of the wine bar grinned right back at the woman in front of her - but hers was more excitement than nervousness - before she shook Karen's hand and uttered, "you as well. It's nice to meet one of Amelia's friends." The Oser woman then quickly cleared her throat and shook her head when she noticed a couple coming up from behind the two women before she exclaimed with professionalism back in her voice, "now, I know you ladies didn't come here to talk to me all night, so, please, follow me and we can put some wine in you two."

Amelia couldn't help but chuckle at her friend as Mandy swiftly turned around and lead them to the back of the wine bar. The bubbly brunette always amused the Mansfield woman because she was so different from all of her other friends. Well, Amelia didn't exactly have many friends because of her line of business as a retired Marine and Avenger. She really only called her fellow Avengers her friends and Natasha was her only best friend - besides Foggy and Matt but they didn't know her on a personal level like Natasha does. She and Natasha are very similar, so once she started living in Malibu with Tony a few years back, they immediately connected - well, after they got over there hatred and after they tried to kill one another but that's a story for another time.

"This place is so classy," Karen gushed in a whisper to the Mansfield woman beside her as she quickly followed after the owner of the wine bar while she glanced at the many different art paintings and expensive-looking furniture around them. The Page woman took a quick glance down at her outfit that consisted of a crinkled blouse and unironed pencil skirt before she mumbled, "I feel under dressed."

Amelia glanced over to the embarrassed blonde woman beside her before she released a small chuckle. "Nonsense," the Mansfield lawyer murmured as she lightly waved her hand as they continued to follow Mandy through a long and narrow hallway before she assured Karen with a friendly smile, "you look amazing."

Karen gave the Mansfield woman a pleased and bright smile to show her thanks - which ultimately helped her relax a little bit more. The Page woman, however, didn't get the chance to say anything before she was interrupted when the owner of the wine bar uttered as she came to a stop in front of a door, "here we are." Mandy faced the two women before she uttered with a bright smile after she pushed open the door, "I hope it is to your liking."

The defense attorney allowed Karen to enter the private room first before she followed straight afterwards. Amelia then glanced around the familiar space with a look of appreciation once she was inside. "It's perfect," the Mansfield woman assured the owner of the wine bar with a small smile once she directed the blonde over to the main couch in the private room.

Mandy let a bright smile appear on her face as she was glad that the lawyer was pleased with the room before she stated, "I'll have London bring out your regular right away." The owner of the wine bar wanted to make sure that she right, so she asked Amelia, "the Cabernet Sauvignon, correct?"

Amelia nodded her head and uttered a small, "yeah." The Mansfield woman, however, was feeling something stronger than just a glass of wine after her trip to Harlem and her mother's old business, so she told the owner of the wine bar, "and I would also like a glass of the Hudson Manhattan Rye as well."

Mandy quickly wrote down the lawyer's order of wine and bourbon on a small notepad that she had in her black slacks before she looked up at Mansfield woman with a soft smile. "Long day?" The owner of the wine bar gently inquired as she knew that Amelia only drinks bourbon whenever she's stressed out.

"You have no idea," Amelia mumbled with a humorless chuckle as she recalled what happened when she got home from the dinner with the Mahoney duo. The Mansfield woman was sick and tired of all the photographs from her anonymous friend. She hated not knowing who was taunting her - especially with her deceased mother - so Amelia definitely needed a night out filled with heavy alcohol.

The Mansfield woman realized that she didn't even have a clue to what Karen liked to drink, so she glanced over to the blonde next to her before she wondered, "do you have a preference?"

Karen's blue eyes had been widened ever since she heard Mandy and Amelia list off the wine that she had never heard of nor could pronounce along with the unfamiliar bourbon. It made the Page woman nervous since she usually stuck to good ole tequila and boxed wine, so she quickly stuttered out, "I-I'll have what you're drinking."

Amelia focused her green eyes on the blonde woman beside her with a twitch of her head when she heard the nervousness in Karen's voice. It made the former Marine notice that something was really bothering the blonde by how nervous she had been ever since she had arrived along with how she acted at the office, so Amelia figured Karen was in the same boat as her with needing a strong drink. "Scratch that drink order," Amelia told the owner of the wine bar as she knew what she and Karen needed right now before she requested, "we'll have that red and a whole bottle of the Hudson Manhattan Rye."

Mandy let out a soft chuckle as she changed the order on her notepad by changing the order from a glass to a bottle of the requested bourbon before she glanced back up to the brunette and blonde women. "Would you ladies like anything to eat?" The owner of the wine bar inquired with her usual professional smile shining across her face.

The Mansfield woman moved her green eyes down to the glass table in front of her and Karen before she picked up the familiar menu. Amelia basically had the menu memorized, so she only had to scan it for a minute or so before she requested, "I'll have the raspberry meringue tart." The brunette woman was still pretty full from the dinner at the Mahoney house so Amelia figured it was best for her to stick to a dessert.

Mandy silently nodded her head as she quickly wrote down the lawyer's food order before she looked up and focused her attention onto the blonde woman. "And what about you, Karen?" The owner of the Ardesia Wine Bar inquired as she asked if the blonde woman wanted a meal with her drink.

Karen's blue eyes slightly widened, like they had been doing whenever someone would talk to her since the murder, before she quickly glanced down at the menu in the defense attorney's hands. The Page woman did a quick scan of the menu as she didn't want to hold up the owner of the wine bar for long before she ordered, "um, I'll have the homemade pretzels."

"Excellent choices," Mandy commented as she finished writing the rest of their order before she looked back up at the two women with a bright smile. "I'll have London deliver your drinks and food as soon as possible," the brunette owner promised before she told Amelia and Karen like the professional she was as she uttered, "if you ladies need anything else, just let me know."

The Mansfield lawyer gave the owner of the wine bar a polite smile before she showed her praise for her old friend for the hospitality, "thank you, Mandy."

The owner of Ardesia Wine Bar gave the two women a nod as she accepted the praise and gave them one last smile before she swiftly turned around and took her exit out of the private room so she could put in their orders.

The private room was silent for only a couple of seconds after Mandy had left and closed the door behind her before the Page woman uttered in amazement as her blue eyes floated around the room, "this place is absolutely beautiful." Karen continued to look around the spacious room that had different paintings and sculptures along with furniture that she had only ever seen in the magazines. "How did you come to find this gem?" The blonde woman wondered after she had finished looking around and glanced over at the brunette lawyer.

Amelia knew that she couldn't exactly tell the whole truth since she met Mandy through her adopted brother, Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, so the brunette lawyer fibbed a tad bit as she answered Karen's question, "oh, I met Mandy at a party in Manhattan almost a decade ago." The Mansfield woman let a small smile grace her lips before she continued, "and we've been friends ever since - thanks to our shared enjoyment of the artistry of alcohol."

The Page woman let out a deep chuckle rumble out of her chest at the joke before she mumbled with a nod of her head as she could also enjoy the finer things that is an alcoholic beverage, "here, here."

The two women shared small smiles before the private room grew silent as they both thought about their own problems in their lives that had to deal with a murdered friend who was found in her apartment or an anonymous messenger linked to her past. However, Amelia was tired of thinking about the anonymous person who was taunting her, so the brunette woman turned her body and looked over to Karen with curiousness shining throughout her green eyes.

"You are a mystery, Ms. Page," the Mansfield woman commented in a low murmur as she observed the blonde beside her before she stated, "I barely know anything about you." Amelia shot the blonde woman a playful wink before she joked about the fact that Karen had joined the small family of defense attorneys, "if you are going to be apart of our crazy family of coffee addicts, then I should get to know you better - after all, I'll finally have another female in the group."

The blonde woman couldn't help to blush from the attention being on her before she softly murmured with a nod of her head, "I suppose that is true." Karen was quite nervous to what the lawyer would want to ask about her life, so she took a deep breath and swallowed thickly before she murmured awkwardly, "well, I'm an open book, so ask whatever you need."

Amelia had immediately noticed how nervous the blonde woman was starting to get again, so she lightly touched Karen's lower arm before she assured the nervous figure with a small chuckle, "relax, Karen. I'm not your lawyer anymore." The Mansfield woman then gave the blonde a friendly smile before she uttered as she decided to get to know Karen, "tell me about your favorite thing about New York."

Karen was immediately shocked with her blue eyes widened by the meaningless request about herself as she had been expecting some type of drilling into her personal life from the defense attorney. Thankfully, though, the normal request helped her relax now that she knew that she didn't have to talk about her deepest secrets, so Karen gave the brunette woman a wide smile as she was glad that she didn't have to be on guard with Amelia about things that she didn't even want think about.

The Page woman leaned back on the comfortable turquoise loveseat as she felt herself relax a little bit more as the clock ticked before she looked over at Amelia and explained what it was that she loved about their state, "New York has a lot of things to love but there was this one little Italian restaurant that my father used to take me to when I was a little girl." Karen let a bright and happy smile lift onto her lips before she stated with a look of remembrance in her blue eyes, "they had the best budino I've ever had in my entire life."

A wide grin immediately lifted onto Amelia's lips as soon as she heard the familiar dessert escape from the blonde's mouth before she exclaimed as she excitedly grabbed onto Karen's hand, "that is my favorite thing in the world." The Mansfield woman let a soft smile cover her face as she murmured, "my mother used to make it for Sunday dinners or whenever I was feeling sad as a child."

Amelia felt like she was actually back in the large kitchen of her childhood home in Long Island standing on her stool while she watched her mother bake as a child with just the thought of the Italian dessert. Budino had always been that comfort food that Amelia would always turn to since it reminded her so much of her mother. It had always been a way for the brunette woman to remember her mother and feel close to her ever since her death.

The Page woman released a small groan as she thought about the familiar dessert from her childhood before she complained with a small pout, "it's been at least ten years since I've had any." Karen let out a sigh before she explained why she hadn't had any of the Italian dessert in over a decade, "the place that my dad used to take me to closed about fifteen years ago and I could never find any budino as good as they used to make."

The Mansfield woman nodded her head in understanding since it was hard to find good budino in the city before she came up with an idea. Amelia lightly bumped her shoulder with the blonde woman's before she uttered with a wide grin and a perfect Italian accent, "well, you're in luck because I know how to make it perfectly thanks to la mia famiglia Italiana **[my Italian family]**."

Karen's blue eyes immediately widened at the possibility that the brunette lawyer could possibly know how to make her favorite dessert in the world. The Page woman pointed at Amelia as she tried to not get her hopes up before she mumbled, "you better not be messing with me." Karen couldn't even count how times that she had tried different forms of budino but never from an authentic Italian since the now closed Italian restaurant.

Amelia let out an amused chuckle at the serious blonde before she stated as she rose her hands up in the air, "I promise I do." The Mansfield woman lightly shrugged her shoulders before she explained, "I try to make it for myself every once in a while when I'm not too busy." It had been the way for Amelia to feel like home - even though she didn't have a home in her family anymore with her mother dead and her father and brothers basically disowning her after her last mission for the family business - but that's a story for another time.

"You have to bring me some whenever you make a batch," the Page woman begged as she could practically taste the smooth custard and salted caramel sauce on her lips by just the thought of the famous Italian dessert that Karen ate almost everyday when her father would pick her up from school.

The Mansfield woman shot Karen a wide grin as she nodded her head before she promised, "I will. You'll be the first one I call." Amelia let out a small chuckle as she remembered all the times that she had made budino since law school before she commented, "that's probably smart, anyway, since Foggy usually eats them all within the first hour."

Karen playfully rolled her blue eyes as she could picture the long haired man doing that before she muttered, "of course he does." The Page woman let out a small chuckle before her irises suddenly widened as she remembered what had happened today at the office. Karen turned her attention back onto Amelia before she asked with humor slipping through her voice, "did you know that Foggy Nelson sings?"

Amelia immediately threw her head back against the loveseat with a heavy laugh before she exclaimed through her bubbly laughter, "oh, you poor thing." The Mansfield woman shook her head while she looked over to Karen with amusement shining throughout her green eyes before she uttered, "you've only been with us for a week and you've already heard Foggy's squawking chicken voice."

The Page woman joined in with the laughter at Foggy Nelson's expense before she and Amelia slowly calmed down. Karen shook her head with a soft chuckle when the laughing died down before she told the brunette lawyer about what happened at the office, "it was horrible and he got so embarrassed that he ended up leaving for the rest of the day."

The defense attorney of M.M.N. Associates rolled her green eyes at the thought of one her best friends before she uttered, "that's what he deserves with that monstrosity of a singing voice." Amelia shot the blonde woman beside her a small smirk before added, "if you even call what he does singing."

Karen let out a small chuckle as she agreed that she wouldn't even call what Foggy did as singing before she commented with amusement all throughout her voice as she recalled the long haired man's voice during his little performance, "I didn't think anyone could screw up Pour O' Pour The Pirate Sherry as bad as he did."

Amelia released a scoff before she muttered, "of course he would pick that stupid song." The Mansfield woman remembered all through law school how Foggy would always sing that damn song and it always annoyed the hell out of her and Matt. The brunette lawyer decided to have some fun, so she glanced over to the woman beside her a wide smirk before she cleared her throat and began to sing that dreadful song, "pour, oh, pour the pirate sherry, fill, O fill the pirate glass!"

The Page woman shook her head in amusement when she realized what the defense attorney was doing. Karen couldn't help but want to feel as carefree as Amelia was, so she let out a small chuckle before she also joined in to the song as she sang in an off key voice, "and, to make us more than merry, let the pirate bumper pass!"

The two women could barely make it through half of the pirate song before they were both sprawled across the turquoise loveseat as they broke out into a heavy laughter just as the door to the private room was opened. The sound of the disruption by the door being opened immediately caught the blonde and the brunette's attention, so they glanced to the door where Amelia was the one that recognize the new person in the room.

"It looks like you ladies are enjoying yourselves," the amused voice of London, the main server at Ardesia Wine Bar, commented with a small chuckle as she made her way into the room with the metal cart of alcohol and food.

The Page woman immediately blushed bright red when she realized that someone had witnessed her horrible singing while the Mansfield woman had immediately leaped up from the couch with her usual shining smile plastered across her face. Amelia waited until the familiar woman sat the bottles of wine and bourbon along with the food onto the glass table in front of the loveseat before she swiftly pulled the younger woman into a tight hug. "It's been too long, London," the defense attorney murmured before she asked once she had pulled away from their embrace, "how's med school going?"

London lightly shrugged her shoulders before she murmured, "oh, you know, still kicking my ass." The sever for the wine bar shot the Mansfield woman a wide grin as she remembered what she had heard from Mandy before she stated, "I heard a congratulations is in order."

Amelia slightly bowed her head as she accepted the praise before she murmured, "thank you." The Mansfield woman lightly bumped her hip into London's black slacks covered side before she uttered with a small smile playing on her lips as she remembered the younger girl was almost finished with her medical degree, "it'll be your turn soon."

London rolled her brown eyes before she groaned out as she felt like her last semester was taking forever, "not soon enough." The server of the wine bar released a small sigh before she gave both women a large smile after her complaining before she uttered with her professionalism showing, "well, I gotta get back out there." London lightly waved her hand before she told the brunette and blonde, "enjoy the rest of your night, ladies."

Amelia nodded her head before she showed her praise to the server that had brought their drinks and food, "thanks, London." The Mansfield lawyer gave the future neurosurgeon a friendly smile before she told the younger woman as she could only imagine how difficult medical school is for the constantly working brunette, "take it easy."

London gave the woman, who she saw as a friend from their years of knowing each other through Mandy, a small but exhausted smile and muttered, "I'll try," before she turned the metal cart around and took her exit out of the private room to get back to work in the packed out wine bar.

"You really know everyone, don't you?" The previously silent Karen Page, who had noticed how friendly Amelia was with the last two women that had walked up to them, wondered as she glanced over at the brunette lawyer next to her.

Amelia let out a small chuckle as she walked back over to the loveseat and the glass table before she began to open up the two bottle of alcohol. "It's good to know people in the city," the defense attorney commented with a small shrug of her shoulders before she added, "you never know when you'll need a lawyer."

The Mansfield woman finished opening the bottles and carefully placed them back onto the glass table before she looked down at the seated blonde with a serious expression as she began, "now, the important question." Amelia stood there in silence for dramatic affect before she asked with a grin, "wine or bourbon?"

Karen felt like she could release the shaky breath that she had been holding in before she finally let out a nervous chuckle along with a playful roll of her blue eyes. "I'll have some bourbon, please," the Page woman requested once she and Amelia had both stopped laughing at the short moment of joking around.

"The strong stuff, huh?" The Mansfield woman commented as she grabbed the bottle of bourbon before she walked over to the table on the other side of the private room. Amelia grabbed one of the crystal glasses before she placed a large piece of ice in the middle and slowly poured the bourbon on top. The brunette lawyer then walked back over to the blonde woman with the glass along with the bourbon and handed Karen the glass before she also grabbed a wine glass and poured her favorite drink of Cabernet Sauvignon.

However, when Amelia headed back over to the turquoise loveseat to sit next to Karen, she couldn't help but notice the tense posture of the blonde along with the fact that Karen was already pouring herself a second drink. The Mansfield woman could tell that something was definitely bothering Karen now that the room was silent and there was alcohol, so Amelia decided that she would try to slide her worry into conversation without spooking the blonde by asking in an easy tone, "long day at the office?"

The Page woman clutched the crystal glass in her shaky hands while she stared down at the amber colored alcohol instead of answering the brunette lawyer's question. Karen just continued to stare down at the bourbon for a few minutes as she tried to control her running mind about everything that has happened to her lately, mostly the murder of Daniel Fisher, before she finally mumbled out, "something like that."

Amelia knew without out a doubt that the problem wasn't because it was a long day at the office. She didn't even stay at the office for a half of the day since there was nothing to do, so she knew this was definitely about something else. The Mansfield woman knew the only way Karen would actually talk about it was with the help of alcohol, so Amelia grabbed the bottle of bourbon from the table before she poured more into Karen's glass as she softly asked, "how are you really doing, Karen?"

The blonde woman bit down on her bottom lip out of anxiousness as she sat there in silence for a moment before she had to remind herself that this was truly the reason why she had even called Amelia tonight. Karen had just felt so overwhelmed with guilt along with fear that she felt like she needed someone to listen to her and Karen knew that she could trust the Mansfield woman. Amelia had been one of the only people in the city that has been kind to her - despite how they met with her being arrested for murder.

Karen knew that she could trust and confide with the Mansfield woman after reminding herself that Amelia wasn't going to judge her, so she took a large drink of her glass of bourbon before she released a heavy sigh. The Page woman then looked over to Amelia before she finally confessed how she was doing, "I'm afraid."

The Mansfield woman immediately furrowed her brows when she heard what Karen had quietly murmured before the puzzled lawyer inquired as she tried to figure out what was going on with the blonde, "of what?"

Karen anxiously ran her shaky fingers through her messy and stringy blonde locks before she mumbled with an emotionless chuckle, "of everything." The blonde woman focused her blue eyes down on her now empty glass before she continued, "I feel like I can't go anywhere without having to constantly look over my shoulder for anyone that is a threat." Karen shook her head as she avoided looking into Amelia's worried eyes before she confessed for the first time, "I don't even feel like a person anymore. I don't get out. I don't even remember the last time I was in the city. I just see dark corners and I feel like everyone is a target trying to kill me."

Amelia silently nodded her head as she absorbed all of what the blonde woman was telling her. The brunette lawyer felt sorry for Karen. She knew the feeling the blonde was talking about but she had been used to it since she was eighteen, so it didn't exactly bother her anymore. However, Amelia knew the blonde must be having a lot trouble dealing with everything since she was very normal with a normal life unlike her Military and Avenger career. Amelia knew that the blonde needed just some type of comfort or reassurance, like she did when she was young and trying to understand all the shitty things that were happening to her, so the brunette lawyer softly murmured, "it'll get better."

The Page woman hurriedly shook her head and quickly poured herself another glass of bourbon before she mumbled out in disagreement, "I don't think it'll ever get better." Karen released a heavy sigh before she murmured with the amber liquid alcohol playing against her lips, "I'll just continue to live in isolation."

Amelia moved closer to Karen when she realized just how bad this was all affecting the blonde woman before she lightly placed a comforting hand onto the blonde's leg. The Mansfield lawyer knew her reassuring words weren't going to be enough for Karen when she was trying to deal with the murdered man in her apartment along with someone trying to kill her in jail, so Amelia decided that she would offer proof as she murmured, "let me tell you a story."

Karen gazed her blue eyes over at the serious-looking lawyer beside her with confusion shining all across her face. The Page woman didn't understand what Amelia was getting at but she decided to hear her out, so Karen mumbled before she slowly began to eat her pretzel, "um, okay, sure."

The Mansfield woman gave Karen a small smile before she began, "I know you know close to nothing about me but I think you should. It might help you out with what you're going through." Amelia gave the blonde another assuring smile as she could see Karen's confusion before she started her tale, "after I finished high school, I was pushed into the Marines by my father." The brunette lawyer grabbed her wine glass from the glass table before she uttered, "he was this bad guy in Long Island and he treated me like one of his soldiers."

Amelia paused briefly before she quickly shook her head to push those thoughts of her father away before she lightly waved her hand and continued, "anyways, I stayed in the military for a couple of years with an important organization that the United States government didn't even know about." The Mansfield woman took a heavy sip of her red wine before she muttered, "I despised my father for pushing me into the Marines but after awhile, I learned to love it."

Amelia let a small smile lift onto her lips as old memories, good memories, began to pop into her mind before she stated, "I was good at my job - one of the best in my squad. I ended up meeting an amazing guy that later became my fiance. I also met my best friend, who introduced me to my fiance. I was the happiest I ever been."

"However," the Mansfield woman began with a heavy sigh escaping her lips before she continued with her life story to hopefully help Karen understand her feelings about what has been going on with her, "all good things must come to an end, for example, when my father found out that I had fallen in love, where he immediately had me pulled from the military."

Amelia took another pause as she got control of her own thoughts about her past life before she told Karen, "when I finally came back to New York, I found out that the love of my life was killed." Thanks to my father, Amelia added in her mind but she couldn't exactly tell Karen that. The Mansfield woman shook her head as she tried to not think too hard about her late fiance before she got to the point of her story, "I was afraid like you are now. I couldn't stand the sight of my father, so I moved into my own apartment for the first time in my life and I absolutely hated it."

Amelia let out a small and emotionless chuckle as she remembered how she had felt back in the day before she continued, "I was scared. I was scared that my father would hurt me or he would pressure me into his lifestyle or to even lose anyone else important in my life." The brunette lawyer shook her head and muttered, "I never wanted to leave my apartment when I got back to the states."

The Mansfield woman took a deep breath before she looked over to Karen with a small smile and told how she ended up getting better, "however, one day, a couple of months later, I decided to go out." Amelia leaned back on the loveseat with a content sigh before she continued, "I started off slow by going to the park a block from my apartment. I slowly went to different places and slowly allowed all that fear to be drowned out."

Amelia remembered how long it took her to actually feel normal again at the young age of twenty and trying to survive her father after losing her fiance and finding out that it was her father who had him killed. It took her months to actually be able to look at her father and not be scared of him. However, the one thing that she regretted was not running from him sooner. She worked for him for three years while she finished her bachelor's degree as this emotionless young woman before she finally realized that she wasn't happy and that it wasn't who she was - thanks to her last mission in Malibu and Tony Stark.

The Mansfield woman gave the silent blonde next to her a brighter smile before she murmured, "the point that I'm trying to make is that you can't be afraid forever." Amelia softly shook her head before she told Karen, "it's okay if it's just small steps. It's still progress." The brunette lawyer took a small sip of her red wine before she concluded, "I know you feel like you will be like this forever but it will get better. You just need to start out slow, and I promise you it will get better for you."

The private room at the wine bar was silent for a whole four minutes before the Page woman finally murmured with tears clouding her blue eyes as she tiredly rested her head onto Amelia's shoulder, "thank you." Karen understood what the brunette woman had done from her story about her past and it did help her a tad bit. It helped her understand that there was proof of someone getting better after a tragic incident and it gave her confidence that maybe she could survive this as well.

The two women of M.M.N. Associates stayed in that position with Karen's head rested onto Amelia's shoulder while they drank their alcohol and ate their meals in a peaceful silence as they comforted one another now that they knew each other more better. However, the silence was soon interrupted, though, when the tipsy Karen let out a small giggle before she told the brunette woman with a hint of teasing in her voice, "the beginning of your life was fucked up."

The Mansfield woman let a deep chuckle escape her lips at the truth of Karen's statement before she mumbled, "you have no idea." Amelia calmly played with the end of Karen's blonde hair for a minute or two before she jokingly uttered with a smirk shining across her face, "but look at me now. I'm a hot shot lawyer."

Karen couldn't help but bust out into laughter with her tipsy mind before she slowly pulled her body up in a sitting position instead of leaning against the lawyer once she had calmed down. The Page woman slightly turned her body so she could look into Amelia's green eyes before she murmured with a soft smile, "really, Amelia, thank you for this." Karen felt alive for the first time in a long time and it was all thanks to Amelia's words and comfort tonight.

Amelia gave the blonde woman one of her dazzling and bright smiles that she had learned to have while in law school before she told Karen, "of course." The Mansfield woman playfully bumped her shoulder with Karen's once she pulled herself at the edge of the loveseat before she added with a soft grin, "and you can call me Amy - since we're friends now."

The two women, now friends, shared wide and tipsy smiles with one another before their night at the wine bar quickly became more relaxed and fun once the elephant in the room was dealt with. Amelia and Karen ended up moving onto sharing jokes and laughs with each other about different things. They also talked about the things that they enjoyed as they got to know each other better while they ate their food and drank their bottles of wine and bourbon.

However, when Karen was in the middle of talking about the time that she jumped in the Hudson River on a dare, Amelia noticed a yawn escape the blonde's mouth. The Mansfield woman let out an amused chuckle when Karen had finally ended her long yawn before she asked as she didn't want to keep the woman from getting some sleep if that's what she wanted, "are you ready to go?"

The Page woman hurriedly shook her head with a slight wave of her hand before she told the defense attorney, "oh, no." Karen didn't want to go home - that was the last place on Earth where she wanted to go - so she quickly assured the brunette woman, "I'm fine."

Amelia immediately became concerned about the blonde woman's jumpy body and her quick words. "Is something wrong?" The Mansfield woman inquired with a twitch of her head as she knew there was something that would cause Karen to act this way when she had been so relaxed lately.

Karen stared across at the brunette woman for a moment before she jokingly mumbled with a sigh, "you really were a good Marine." The Page woman knew military training was the reason why Amelia was able to catch her change of attitude like her father, a former Navy sailor, used to do when she was a kid. Karen took a deep breath when the Mansfield woman patiently waited before she confessed to Amelia about what was wrong, "I-I don't like going home at night."

Amelia knew exactly what was wrong now that she knew that the Page woman didn't want to go home from her own experience. "It's the blood, isn't it?" The Mansfield lawyer inquired as she softly laid a comforting hand onto the blonde's lower arm.

Karen slowly nodded her head as she drawled out, "yeah." The Page woman twitched her head to the side in confusion at how Amelia basically read her mind before she questioned, "how did you know?"

Amelia lightly shrugged her shoulders before she stated, "like I said, my father was a bad man." The Mansfield woman gave Karen a small smile before she commented, "I've been in your place once upon of time." Amelia remembered like it was yesterday when she had seen all the blood. I guess my dad was right, Amelia thought, you never forget your first kill.

It was about four months after she got back from the Marines and finally decided to join the family business. Amelia's father had taken her with him on a trip to Maine to take charge of an interrogation with a local drug dealer from Harlem, who had fled with ten thousand dollars that he owed from selling her father's heroin.

Amelia hadn't known what she was expecting when her father told her to get the money from him until they found out the Harlem man had spent over seventy-five percent of the money. Amelia's father had handed her a simple glock handgun before he commanded her to kill him. The brunette had been shocked that her father wanted her to kill the drug dealer - despite killing so many men in the Marines.

However, Amelia had been dealing with losing her fiance and hating her father for ruining the happiness that she had while serving in the Marines, so it had messed with her emotions when she had pulled the trigger and watched all the blood seep into the grey carpet of the Harlem man's apartment. That night was the night that Amelia had turned into the cold hearted soldier for her father as she didn't feel that there was a way out after killing that man. She felt that her father would never let her leave the family business and she became that cold hearted person like her father always wanted her to be.

Karen's blue eyes couldn't help but widen slightly when she heard Amelia mention how her father was a bad man again. However, the Page woman was too scared to ask what that exactly meant, so she decided to not comment on that. Instead, Karen took a shaky deep breath before she confessed why she didn't want to go home, "i-it's just, I can't get Daniel's blood out of my carpet." Karen slowly shook her head before she gazed over at the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and continued in a low murmur, "it's like somebody spilled a wine bottle and it just won't come out."

The Page woman moved her gaze back over to Amelia's green eyes with tears in her blue ones before she stated in a shaky voice, "the fact that someone was inside my apartment and tried to kill me doesn't exactly help either." Karen let out a heavy sigh before she concluded about the reason why she didn't want to go to her apartment, "every time I walk through my hallway, I can see where he bashed my head into it. It's bad enough I have nightmares, now when I'm trying to relax in my own home, I can picture what that man did to me."

Amelia silently nodded her head in understanding as she absorbed every word that came out of the blonde woman's mouth. The Mansfield woman waited until Karen had grown silent before she placed a soft hand onto Karen's lower arm and gave it a small squeeze. "You don't have to go home if you don't want, alright?" Amelia softly murmured as she tried to comfort the blonde woman.

Karen let out a watery smile along with an emotionless and exhausted chuckle before she mumbled with a shake of her head, "it's not my home anymore."

The brunette lawyer couldn't help but feel her heart break at the sight of the blonde basically falling apart in front of her. It made Amelia feel like she needed to comfort the emotional woman, so the brunette lawyer reached over and squeezed Karen's arm, once again, before an idea popped into her head. Amelia hated that the Page woman was going through so much when it wasn't even her fault, so Amelia gave the blonde a brighter smile before she murmured her perfect solution to at least make Karen feel like she has a home to go to at night, "come stay with me."

The Page woman's blue eyes immediately widened in shock at the offer or more like command that the brunette lawyer had uttered before she voiced her confusion with a gasp, "w-what?"

Amelia lightly shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal that she was offering up a room before she explained why she was doing just that, "I live alone in a three bedroom apartment with a small puppy." The Mansfield woman let out a small chuckle before she joked, "you would be doing me a favor."

Karen was honestly still in total shock at the offer. She was also iffy about taking free charity from someone, especially her former lawyer who she didn't pay along with her current boss, so the Page woman quickly mumbled, "o-oh, I don't know, Amelia."

"Oh, come on," the Mansfield woman murmured with a small chuckle before she stated, "I really don't mind." Amelia could tell that the blonde was worried about something - probably that she would be a bother - so the brunette lawyer assured the Page woman, "you don't even have to stay for long - just until you can get the blood out of your apartment." Amelia wanted to make the blonde feel better and help ease the burden, so the Mansfield woman added with a soft smile, "I'll even help you hire someone so you don't have to look at the blood anymore."

The Page woman anxiously bit down on her bottom lip as she didn't want to step on any toes but she really rather she didn't have to go back to her apartment any time soon. "Are you sure you don't mind?" Karen questioned as she needed to be positive that she really was welcomed into Amelia's home.

Amelia nodded her head with a soft smile before she promised, "you can stay with me as long as you want." The Mansfield woman gave Karen's lower arm another squeeze before she assured the blonde as she stated, "I know what it's like to feel like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, so come stay with me until you can feel that normalcy again."

Karen silently stared into the calm green eyes of the Mansfield woman for a moment or two as she tried to decide what she should do. The Page woman was scared about going to her apartment, afraid that there would be someone waiting to kill her, and she wouldn't mind finally getting a good night's rest. Karen hated the idea of taking a freebie when she didn't deserve it, though, but the thought of finally resting without jumping every second ruled over her ego. "Alright, I'll stay with you," Karen finally mumbled before she quickly added, "but only for the night. I don't want to be a bother."

The Mansfield woman let out a small chuckle before she assured the blonde, "you'd never be a bother but if that's what makes you comfortable, then we can start with one night." Amelia gave the Page woman's arm another squeeze to offer her some much needed comfort before she wondered with her usual bright smile, "so, are you ready to head out?"

Karen couldn't help the relaxed smile that lifted onto her lips as she felt this calmness reach her chest now that she knew that she didn't have to go back to her blood soaked and murder-attempted apartment. The thought of finally getting some sleep excited the blonde woman that she quickly exclaimed, "yes!" Karen shook her with a chuckle once she realized how bubbly her voice sounded before she uttered with a small grin, "I think I've had a little too much bourbon."

Amelia shook her head in amusement before she commented with a small shrug, "it happens." The Mansfield woman had spent plenty of nights at the wine bar getting drunk after a hard day, with Tony and Pepper, or when Natasha was in town, so she knew exactly what the blonde woman needed. Amelia pointed over to the right corner of the private room before she told Karen, "if you are feeling too tipsy, there's water bottles in the mini-refrigerator."

Karen immediately released a heavy sigh before she mumbled as she knew that she drank a little too much, "thank God." The Page woman then slowly stood up from the turquoise loveseat before she headed to the other side of the room to get some much needed water to help clear her mind enough to head to Amelia's apartment.

The Mansfield woman waited until Karen had reached the mini-refrigerator before Amelia pulled out of her cell phone from her black Gucci purse. Amelia quickly went down her contacts until she found the one that she was looking for before she sent a text message to Joseph, "going back home w/ friend. Don't follow."

Amelia didn't want to spook the blonde woman with her bodyguard around them when Karen was emotional as it is with dealing with the murder and all the blood in her apartment, so Amelia figured it would be best for Joseph to not show himself. Amelia just hoped that the bodyguard and CIA agent would actually listen.

The Mansfield woman sent out a silent prayer for Joseph to follow with her plan as she pressed send on the message before she placed her cell phone back into her purse. Amelia then grabbed her wallet once her device was put away before she placed two hundred dollar bills on the glass table to pay for their drinks and meals along with a large tip for the local Hell's Kitchen bar. "Alright," the Mansfield woman mumbled after she placed her wallet back into her purse and headed to the middle of the private room before she told the blonde as she was ready to go home after a long day, "let's get out of here."

The blonde and brunette women gathered their things once Karen had finished her bottle of water before they silently walked out of the door and headed down the narrow hallway. Amelia made a quick stop as she said a goodbye to the busy owner of the wine bar with a quick hug and a promise to visit the winery that she had mentioned earlier before she and Karen walked out into the night cool air of Hell's Kitchen.

Amelia pushed the silver chain strap of her Gucci black purse up on her shoulder before she turned to the side so she could look over at the blonde woman. "Did you drive or walk here?" The Mansfield lawyer inquired as she needed to figure out how they were going to get back to her apartment.

Karen shook her head as she didn't take either of those transportations before she explained, "oh, I took the subway."

The Mansfield woman nodded her head in understanding before she murmured now that she knew that they wouldn't need to go separate ways, "perfect." Amelia gave the blonde woman a small smile before she uttered, "I hope you don't mind walking, then. My apartment is only a five minute walk from here."

Karen lightly waved her hand to show that she was fine with walking before she began, "oh, I don't mi-"

However, though, before the Page woman could even complete her sentence, she was soon interrupted when a, sadly, familiar voice to Amelia walked up to them and loudly exclaimed in a chipper tone, "oh! What do we have here?" The man looked over to Amelia with a wide and cocky grin before he commented like he and Amelia were old friends, "I didn't think I would be running into you, Ms. Mansfield."

Amelia immediately glared over at Joseph and the fake act from the CIA agent but she knew that she had introduce him or it would spook Karen, so the brunette woman placed a polite smile on her face before she looked over to the blonde. "Karen, this is my friend, Joseph, from England," Amelia introduced the CIA agent like she had done with Foggy and Matt before she introduced the blonde woman, "Joseph, this is Karen, she works at M.M.N. Associates with me."

The first one to speak was Karen after she had released a breath of relief at the fact that Amelia knew this large man in the black suit. "It's nice to meet you, Joseph," the Page woman politely uttered as she shook the man's warm hand.

Joseph gave the blonde woman a wide grin and exclaimed, "the pleasure is all mine, Ms. Karen." The CIA agent then glanced between the two women in front of him before he curiously inquired, despite the fact that he already knew the answer, "so, where are you lovely ladies heading this late at night?"

The Mansfield woman grinded her teeth together in annoyance at the CIA agent's act in front of Karen. However, Amelia knew that she had to continue to be nice to Joseph for the sake of the blonde woman, so Amelia took a deep breath before she muttered, "we were just about to head to my apartment."

The bodyguard for the Mansfield woman let out a loud and fake gasp before he exclaimed, "well, I'm heading that way." Joseph pointed towards the direction of Amelia's apartment before he inquired without leaving in room for his client to argue with him, "why don't I just drop you off on my way out?"

Amelia knew exactly what Joseph was doing by talking to her and Karen - his job. It was what Joseph had been doing all week when she would go somewhere with Matt or Foggy. It annoyed Amelia so much that he had to make sure that she was inside of her apartment but Amelia didn't have time to argue with Karen by her side, so the brunette lawyer looked over to Joseph with a glare before she uttered with a fake smile, "that would be great, Jojo."

The CIA agent gave Amelia a tight smile at the use of that stupid nickname before he released all of that annoyance when he turned to face Karen with a wide grin. "You can head in the car," Joseph told the blonde woman as he pointed his right hand towards his blue vehicle that was parked right in front of them before he informed her, "I have the heat on. I wouldn't want anyone to freeze to death."

The Page woman gave the large man in the suit a polite smile and murmured, "thank God." Karen looked over to the brunette woman with a small chuckle while she rubbed up and down on her cold arms to show her point before she quickly turned around and headed to the heated up vehicle.

Amelia shot the blonde woman a wide smile and waited until Karen entered the backseat of the Impala before she swiftly faced Joseph with a glare. The Mansfield lawyer pushed against her bodyguard's hard chest as she growled, "what the fuck are you still doing here?" The brunette clinched her teeth when Joseph continued to smile before she muttered in annoyance, "I don't need you scaring my friends."

Joseph shot his client a wide smirk before he taunted her with the name that she hated him using as he told her with a careless shrug of his shoulders, "I'm just doing my job, Ms. Mansfield."

The defense attorney rolled her green eyes at the tall man and mumbled, "you're an ass." Amelia knew that he was just doing all this to get on her nerves, so she didn't say anything else. Instead, the Mansfield woman shot Joseph one last glare before she swiftly turned around and headed towards the blue vehicle with a chuckling Joseph following closely behind.

The car ride to Amelia's apartment was pretty short since the building was only a couple of blocks away from the wine bar. The brunette and blonde women just took the time to relax while they watched the bright lights of Hell's Kitchen go by before the CIA agent came to a stop a few minutes later. Joseph parked his car in front of the apartment building before he faced the two women and murmured, "here we are, ladies."

The Mansfield woman opened the backdoor of the Impala once she knew that the car was parked before she exited out of the vehicle. Amelia stood to the side and let Karen exit the car as well before she quickly poked her head back inside. The brunette lawyer glared over at the smiling Joseph before she ordered, "leave this time."

The bodyguard and CIA agent shot his client a wide smirk before he offered, even though he knew Amelia wouldn't be able to do it, "I will if you stay out of trouble." The Russell man then dipped his head down like as if he had a cap on before he teasingly told the Mansfield woman, "have a good night, now."

Amelia rolled her green eyes at her personal bodyguard and muttered, "cocky bastard," before she pulled her head away from the blue Impala and closed the backdoor behind her. Hopefully he'll stay away this time, the brunette woman thought as she didn't need anymore appearances from Joseph. The Mansfield lawyer took a deep breath to get rid of her annoyance for the man before she faced Karen with a wide grin and exclaimed as she walked towards her apartment building, "come on. Let's get out of the cold."

The two women quickly entered the warm Stark Industries-made apartment building before they headed up through the glass elevator. It took a few minutes to reach the top floor since the apartment was twenty-seven floors high but it was very peaceful with the soft rock music playing in the background in a very Tony Stark style.

"Wow, this place is incredible," the Page woman commented once they had stepped foot onto Amelia's floor as she gazed at the detailed touches to the apartment from the glass windows and the advanced technology on all of the doors. Karen furrowed her brows as she had never seen a place like this in her life before she inquired when she glanced over to Amelia, "isn't this one of the new Stark apartments that were built?"

Amelia nodded her head as she placed her thumb print on her front door before she shot the blonde woman a grin and murmured, "yes, ma'am, it is." The Mansfield woman pushed up the door and allowed Karen to enter in front of her before she explained, "I got lucky when Stark's company allowed me to move in." Amelia knew that she couldn't tell the truth that Tony actually built the apartment building solely for her, so she fibbed her statement just a tad.

"No kidding," the Page woman mumbled as she slowly made her way into the living room of Amelia's large apartment before she began to gaze at the lawyer's expensive-looking furniture and detailed artwork. However, though, before Karen could compliment Amelia on her home, the blonde woman let out a gasp when she noticed a small puppy jumping on her leg as it barked at her.

The Mansfield woman, who had been standing at the edge of the living room, immediately scolded her puppy with a roll of her green eyes, "Bucky, get down!" Amelia let out a small chuckle when her Husky quickly sat down in front of Karen while he wagged his tail before she looked over to the blonde woman and assured her, "he won't bite."

Karen silently nodded her head in understanding before she squatted down until she was eye level with the puppy. "Hey, little guy," the Page woman murmured as she greeted the Husky. Karen ran her fingers behind the puppy's ear before she asked with a grin shining across her lips, "aren't you a cutie?"

Amelia watched her puppy and the blonde for a moment before she teased, "don't boast his ego." The brunette lawyer then headed into her kitchen while Karen was distracted by her companion before she swiftly began to take out her gun from the back of her slacks along with the dagger inside of her boot. Amelia then placed the weapons on the dining room table and opened up her purse before she quickly stashed them inside just as Karen walked into the kitchen with Bucky in her arms.

"I think I'm in love," the Page woman gushed once she came to a stop at the edge of the kitchen as she continued to scratch between Bucky's ears while she gazed down at the puppy with happiness in her blue irises.

The Mansfield woman let out a soft chuckle as she knew exactly what Karen meant. "He has that affect on everyone," Amelia stated before she paused as she twitched her head to the side and added a moment later, "well, except for Foggy." The brunette woman lightly shrugged her shoulders when Karen looked at her confusion before she mumbled, "there's a dislike from the both of them."

The two women both chuckled as they pictured the frustrated long haired man with the small and innocent puppy. It really was amusing since Amelia seen it every time Foggy would come up to her apartment or the off-chance he would come with her and Matt for Bucky's morning walks.

The defense attorney and the M.M.N. Associates' newest employee gazed down at the relaxed Husky in Karen's arms for a moment as the small puppy was always so calming before Amelia pulled herself out of the trance that is her companion. The brunette woman straightened her body before she asked the blonde, "are you hungry for a late night snack?"

Karen took a seat at the dining room table with the cute and adorable puppy resting in her arms before she looked up at the Mansfield woman and curiously wondered, "what did you have in mind?"

Amelia had planned on making a certain Italian dessert in a few days for the blonde woman but the lawyer figured this would be the perfect time, so she shot Karen a large grin before she headed towards her pantry and refrigerator. The Mansfield woman then silently began to pull out the ingredients that she would need - milk, eggs, brown sugar, butter, dark rum, salt, heavy cream, cornstarch, and a touch of vanilla bean. Amelia carried and placed everything down onto the kitchen island before she teasingly asked Karen with a smirk playing on her lips, "do you know what we're going to make?"

The Page woman's blue eyes immediately widened after she studied all of the familiar ingredients. Karen had tried to make her favorite dessert once upon of time so she knew exactly what they were going to make. However, Karen didn't want to get her hopes up, so she looked up at Amelia before she asked with a tint of excitement in her voice, "are we making what I think we're making?"

Amelia nodded her head before she answered with a large grin, "yes, ma'am." The Mansfield woman lightly shrugged her shoulders before she explained why she was making the Italian dessert, "I figured this would be the perfect time for some budino." Amelia rose an eyebrow at the obvious excited blonde before she asked, "you wanna help?"

Karen instantly nodded her head with her blue eyes still widened before she exclaimed, "yes! Oh, my God, yes, of course!" The Page woman felt like she was in a dream right now that she would not only get some budino for the first time in years but she would actually get to make it with an actual Italian.

The Mansfield woman let out an amused chuckle at the blonde - who was acting like a kid in a candy store. Amelia found it adorable how excited Karen was but she didn't want to embarrass her, so the brunette lawyer clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "alright, let's get to work." The Mansfield woman walked around the kitchen island and separated the ingredients into two piles as she told Karen, "I'll start making the custard and you can start on the whipped cream."

The Page woman quickly placed the Husky down onto the ground when she got her orders before she rushed to the kitchen island in excitement to taste the sweet dessert. Karen grabbed the hair tie from her wrist once she was in front of the ingredients before she placed her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her way. "I can't believe I'm actually going to make budino," Karen gushed as she began to crack eggs into a clear glass bowl.

"Well, believe it," the Mansfield woman teased as she bumped her hip into Karen's before she turned around and grabbed the red mixer that she had underneath the cabinet so she could get started on the custard. Amelia began to prepare the custard as she placed a teaspoon of cornstarch into the mixing bowl before she glanced over to Karen when she grabbed the dark rum.

Amelia couldn't help the content smile that lifted onto her lips when she noticed Karen humming a small tune as she added the heavy cream into the bowl of eggs for the whipped topping. It made the Mansfield woman feel like she did something good by helping Karen, her new friend, through her struggles. Amelia knew it wasn't going to solve all of Karen's problems but Amelia knew it would help by offering Karen a place to stay away from the apartment that causes her terror everyday.

It reminded Amelia of the time that she needed a place to stay. It was right after her last mission with her father about four years ago. Amelia was supposed to kill Iron Man, her now adopted brother, after getting the Stark weapons with the help of her father's associate; Obadiah Stane. However, Amelia ended up helping Tony kill Obadiah after she and Tony had a talk and Amelia confessed that she wanted out of this life. Thankfully, Tony had a soft spot for her like a sibling would through the four months that she infiltrated Stark Industries with Obadiah - but that's a story for another time.

Tony Stark was the reason for why Amelia was currently a lawyer and not dead or still working with her father. Tony had saved her by giving her place to stay in Malibu along with New York and getting rid of her record so she could go into hiding from her father and brothers. Amelia felt like this was her way to pass it forward by helping Karen with her own tragic experiences like Tony had done for her. Amelia just hoped that she would be able to help Karen move on from this and get back to living a happy and normal life again.


	8. The Knock

M.M.N. Associates actually had their employees, well, two of them, inside the office before eleven in the morning like that had been doing. The two employees happened to be the only two females - Amelia Mansfield and Karen Page. The brunette and blonde women had arrived about forty minutes ago at exactly nine in the morning. The two newly turned friends were currently seated by the receptionist area with Karen seated behind her desk and Amelia seated on top as they enjoyed their breakfast of budino while they lightly chatted with one another.

"I think Matty is going to have to fight you for Bucky's walking partner," Amelia joked as she shot the blonde woman a teasing smile before she took another bite of the sweet custard. "He really likes you walking with us," the Mansfield woman commented with a hint of shock in her voice. Amelia had been surprised when her small Husky had allowed Karen to walk him a few hours ago when the blonde woman had joined them on Bucky's morning walk before work.

Karen immediately grinned widely at the brunette woman and her praise before the blonde excitedly exclaimed, "I'm glad!" The Page woman released a happy sigh before she stated, "it's so relaxing to walk the little guy - especially with more than half of the city still asleep." Karen lightly shook her head as she took a bite of her breakfast before she commented, "I've never really explored the city when it's so quiet but it's really nice. It gives you time to think without all that noise."

The Mansfield woman nodded her head in agreement as her mouth was filled with the sweet Italian treat. Amelia swallowed down the custard before she told Karen, "yeah, that's what I usually do in the morning." The brunette lawyer placed her empty container onto Karen's receptionist desk before she continued, "there is literally no sounds of cars or people around the city when Bucky and I go out. It's like the only time that I can actually relax before a long day."

The Page woman smiled across at the brunette woman but before she could say anything about how she would like to join the owner and her companion in the mornings from now on during her stay at the Mansfield apartment, she was soon interrupted when the front door of M.M.N. Associates was swiftly pushed open by a groaning Foggy Nelson.

Amelia watched her long haired best friend push his back against the closed door with his eyes slammed shut while he continue to groan. "What's up with you?" The Mansfield woman curiously wondered with a hint of amusement in her voice - even though she could probably tell what happened to the Nelson man by the way his suit was wrinkled and the sweat pouring down the side of Foggy's neck.

"Josie's," the male defense attorney simply mumbled while he rubbed at his exhausted eyes. It took awhile for Foggy to finally focus as he tried to get used to the bright lights of Hell's Kitchen instead of his dark apartment. However, when Foggy could see more clearly, he looked over to the two women before he immediately zeroed on what Karen was holding. "Please tell me you brought more than two," the hungover man begged before he looked over to Amelia and moaned out, "I've missed your desserts so much."

The Mansfield woman rolled her green eyes with a chuckle at her exaggerating best friend before she glanced over to Karen and murmured with a small smirk, "I told you so." The two women both laughed together for a moment as the brunette had been right at Foggy's reaction of the budino before Amelia hopped off of the receptionist desk and took her empty container towards the kitchen area of M.M.N. Associates. Amelia tossed the container into the sink to wash later before she opened up the refrigerator and grabbed an unopened container of budino.

Amelia grabbed a spoon from the drawer before she headed back into the receptionist area of M.M.N. Associates. "Here you go, Franklin," the Mansfield woman uttered with a small teasing smile playing on her pink lips as she handed the dessert over to the hungover man.

Foggy completely ignored the fact that the brunette woman called him by his real name - which he hated - as he immediately dug right into the sweet custard. The defense attorney instantly moaned out when the familiar dessert touched his taste buds before he complimented his best friend, "oh, thank you, Amy. You're literally my best friend right now."

"Um, rude," the Mansfield woman mumbled as she crossed her arms over her white blouse and sky blue blazer. Amelia playfully frowned at the long haired man before she muttered with a deep pout settled onto her face, "I thought I've always been your best friend."

Foggy carelessly waved his hand as he continued to stuff his mouth with the sweet custard before he told Amelia after he had scrapped the last piece of budino off of the container, "you know what I mean." The Nelson man didn't want to further put himself into a hole, even though he knew Amelia was just busting his balls, so as he walked towards the two women, he pointed towards their front door before he asked Karen and Amelia their opinion, "hey, what do you think about getting a sign for the door?"

The Page woman furrowed her brows in confusion as she stared over at the male defense attorney. Karen pointed her right hand towards the door behind Foggy before she stated, "well, you got a sign."

Foggy glanced over his shoulder and over to the handmade sign that he had hung up a few days ago before he looked back over to the two women with a roll of his brown eyes. "I mean, a real one," the Nelson man exclaimed.

Karen couldn't help but to immediately let out a scoff at the long haired man. The Page woman walked around the receptionist desk and patted Foggy's wrinkly white button up shirt before she teasingly told him, "you should get some clients first."

The Nelson man released a loud groan when he realized that he was getting nowhere with the blonde woman. The male defense attorney knew his only chance would be with his fellow associate, so Foggy sluggishly twisted his hungover body to look towards Amelia before he begged, "come on, just one little sign."

However, when Foggy could only see the amusement in the Mansfield woman's green eyes, the Nelson man released a loud sigh before he continued with his pleading as he exclaimed, "back me up here, Amy!" Foggy pointed towards the front door as he asked, "I mean, what could it even cost? I'm pretty sure we can afford one little sign." The male defense attorney then immediately recalled all of the times that Amelia had helped him out with money in the past so he quickly added to hopefully get that new sign, "besides, it's not like we don't have access to money with your rich uncle always backing you up."

Amelia lazily rolled her green eyes at the mention of her 'uncle.' Well, that's what she called Tony whenever she would mention to Foggy and Matt about where she would get her money - that or she would just tell them that it came from the money that she got from her parents' death. "Uncle Anthony only gives me money when it's an emergency," Amelia lied as she did have her own money from working as an Avenger and an agent at S.H.I.E.L.D. - even though Tony still tries to give her money when she doesn't even need it. Amelia lightly shrugged her shoulders before she told the long haired man, "sorry, Franklin. It looks like you just gotta wait until we get a new client and start making our own money."

The blonde receptionist nodded her head in agreement with the female defense attorney as she muttered, "Amy's right." Karen moved around the large receptionist desk until she was seated beside the aforementioned brunette before she released an amused chuckle and told Foggy with humor shining throughout her voice, "I mean, you can barely even afford to pay me as it is."

The Nelson man immediately furrowed his brows once his hungover mind slowly took in the blonde woman's words. "I thought you were working for free," Foggy commented with honest confusion as he didn't remember getting the memo that they were supposed to be paying the blonde receptionist.

"I... I did," the Page woman stated with a slight stutter - thanks to the laugh that she wanted to release by how Foggy looked like a lost puppy right now with his head twitched to the side and his innocent confusion - before she added with a teasing grin playing on her pink lips, "for like a day."

But before the Nelson man could say anything more about the matter, the trio group was soon interrupted when the heavy door of M.M.N. Associates was pushed open by none other than the last employee of the law firm. "Hey," Foggy called out when he saw it was Matt before he asked his best friend as he was still not understanding the whole receptionist situation, "did you know that's she not really free?"

Amelia couldn't help but to shake her head in amusement at Foggy's confusion before she commented, "it's pretty obvious." The Mansfield woman crossed her arms over light blue blazer and slowly uttered, "that's what usually happens when you hire someone - you pay them for their services," before she and Karen both began to laugh at the annoyed expression that rose onto Foggy's face when she only stated the obvious instead of explaining when they started to pay the blonde.

However, the two best friends of Amelia and Foggy didn't receive the response that they thought they were going to get from the Murdock man in the form of a sarcastic or joking answer like what would usually happen when they would joke with each other. Instead, Matt only mumbled out a quiet, "hey," in greeting before he silently placed his walking cane onto the coat rack in the corner of the receptionist area.

The Mansfield woman and the Nelson man were confused only for a minute or so about their best friend's silence until Matt faced them. "Jesus," Foggy mumbled when he caught the side of Matt's face and saw the dark bruising on the Murdock man's cheek. "What happened to your eye?" The Nelson man asked as he stared at the blackness poking out from the side of Matt's glasses.

"Oh, my," the blonde receptionist gasped out before the Murdock man could even open his mouth when she also caught sight of the bruising on the lawyer's face. Karen quickly moved off of the receptionist desk and walked closely towards Matt until she was only a few inches away as she was afraid that she would harm him if she got too close. "Are you okay?" Karen softly asked as she gazed at his injuries with her brows furrowed deeply in worry.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Matt quickly assured the trio with a small chuckle like it wasn't anything big. "I just wasn't paying attention last night," the devil of Hell's Kitchen partly lied since there had been moments last night when he was fighting those men that he hadn't been paying attention - which resulted into the bruises and cuts along his body. "It's my fault," Matt added with a small shrug of shoulders as he prayed that the two defense attorneys and the receptionist would believe in his lie.

Unlike Foggy and Karen, though, the Mansfield woman didn't exactly believe in the words that Matt was spilling. Amelia knew from her experience in the Marines, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and even as an Avenger that taking a fall or bumping into something would definitely not leave the marks that Matt was currently sporting.

The part that puzzled the Mansfield woman the most about Matt's injuries were the fact that he was obviously lying about them. Amelia didn't understand why Matt was making up a story when he could just be honest. However, Amelia knew that was very hypocritical of her since she had been lying to her two best friends since law school about being Sergeant Viper, so she didn't comment on that.

Instead, Amelia had to remind herself that not everyone was out to get her or even had to tell her everything. Amelia knew that it was normal for someone to hide some tiny details like Matt was doing, so instead of interrogating her best friend on his story, Amelia decided that she would show her concern for her best friend like any normal person would as she softly told the Murdock man, "you should take it easy today. If you need anything or you feel like you're in pain, just let me know."

The two other employees of M.M.N. Associates, Karen and Foggy, both silently nodded their heads in agreement with the Mansfield woman as they thought it would be a great idea for Matt to take it easy so he could recover from his injuries.

The receptionist area of the new law firm in Hell's Kitchen didn't stay silent for long, though, as Foggy's brown eyes immediately widened when he came up with the perfect solution for his best friend. "You need a dog," Foggy loudly exclaimed while he snapped his fingers as if he had just found the cure for cancer.

The Murdock lawyer immediately scoffed at the long haired man's suggestion before he quickly shook his head and muttered, "I'm not getting a dog."

"Oh, come on, Matty," the Mansfield woman began as she crossed her arms over her white blouse and sky blue blazer. "I don't think a dog would be that bad for you," Amelia commented with a small shrug of her shoulders before she explained, "I mean, look at Bucky, he loves spending time with you and I know you feel the same way."

Amelia honestly did think Matt getting a furry companion would be a great idea. Even though the brunette woman didn't believe Matt's story about his injuries, she did want to make sure her best friend was being careful out on the streets of New York and having a dog would be the perfect solution.

"What's your problem with dogs?" Foggy interrogated with a frown on his face as he gained up on the Murdock man after Amelia had tried to do the same over the safety of their best friend. The Nelson man glanced around the receptionist area as if he was looking for an answer before he asked with a small chuckle, "I mean, who doesn't like dogs?"

"I-I love dogs!" The blonde receptionist quickly exclaimed while she awkwardly raised her hand in the air as she tried to help the two defense attorneys out with their mission of getting Matt a dog.

"See!" Foggy shouted as he pointed his finger over to the blonde woman before he stated, "everybody loves dogs!" However, Foggy quickly came to a pause as a thought suddenly came to mind before he glanced over to Amelia and added with a slight shiver running down his spine, "well... except for Bucky." The Nelson man glared over at the brunette woman before he accused in a mumble, "I think you trained your dog to hate me."

The Mansfield woman immediately rolled her green eyes at the long haired man before she told Foggy with a smirk shining across her lips, "Bucky is an angel." Amelia lightly shrugged her shoulders before she jokingly added with a hint of softness to her voice, "it's not my fault if he has a keen smell for the bad guys like the person he was named after."

 _Ah, James Buchanan Barnes_ , the Mansfield woman softly thought to herself as she remembered her first meeting with the man right when she had first became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. about five years ago. Well, it was actually the Winter Solider that she had met but she later got to know the kind man that Steve always raves about. James Buchanan Barnes gave the Mansfield woman the best two years that she had ever experienced with their relationship full of passion, personal growth, and, of course, heartache.

Amelia may have regretted a lot of things in her lifetime but spending those six-hundred-and-thirty-two days with James Buchanan Barnes would never be something that she would regret. James gave her that passion that she hadn't felt for another person since her fiance had died when she was in the Marines. Their relationship may had ended horribly and she never got the chance to see him again after Hydra took back their Winter Soldier, but Amelia would always cherish the time that she had with Bucky for the rest of her life.

"Hey!" The Page woman yelped - which instantly knocked the Mansfield lawyer out of her thoughts about the past with the kind hearted man who her dog was named after - before Karen defended the small Husky who she had become to love during her stay at the Mansfield apartment, "Bucky is a sweetheart."

However, though, before the Nelson man could show anymore of his hate for the puppy that hated his guts, they were all soon interrupted when there was knock to the front door of M.M.N. Associates. The room immediately fell silent at the sound since there hadn't been a time when someone had knocked on their door before. It took a few minutes for the shock to enter everyone's system before Foggy carefully and quietly asked, "was that a knock?"

The Murdock lawyer was the next one to open his mouth as he simply nodded his head once with a slight smile playing on his lips before he murmured to affirm what Foggy thought he heard, "someone's at the door."

"Our door?" The Nelson man continued to ask with a voice filled with astonishment at the fact that someone was trying to come here as he still didn't believe that someone was actually knocking at their place of business.

Amelia couldn't help but roll her green eyes at her shell shocked best friend before she quietly exclaimed as she pointed towards the front entrance of their office space, "yes, doofus, our door." The Mansfield woman was shocked that someone wanted inside of M.M.N. Associates - despite her annoyance with Foggy continuing to ask questions about the new presence - since they were still fairly new. _It better not be Tony,_ Amelia swore to herself as she already told Tony that she didn't want his help in becoming some high-priced lawyer that the superhero thought she needed to become.

The Nelson man went to argue with the Mansfield woman about how his question was an important one and not a stupid one since nobody had even tried to call their company phone - nonetheless show up at their office space. However, though, before Foggy could defend himself and his questions, the Murdock lawyer called out to the blonde receptionist as he pointed his head towards the door, "uh, Karen?"

The Page woman furrowed her brows for a moment or two as she stared at Matt before she exclaimed as she suddenly remembered her duties as the receptionist for M.M.N. Associates, "right!" Karen nervously ran her fingers across her black skirt and mumbled, mostly to herself, "okay," before she steadily walked to the front door.

It only took a little less than five steps to reach the entrance since they were all standing pretty close. Karen took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the doorknob with the three defense attorneys nervously and excitedly waiting to see who was on the other side before Karen slowly pulled open the door - where the employees of M.M.N. Associates immediately noticed a man in a blue tailored suit with a pair of expensive glasses settled perfectly on top of his slender nose.

"Hi," the unknown man with the brunette hair greeted the two women and the two men as he slowly moved his brown eyes to stare at each person in the room. The unknown man took a small step into the receptionist area with a wide grin spread across his face before he curiously inquired, "do you do walk-ins?"

Amelia, the ever-so businesswoman that she was, immediately took charge of the situation - seeing as Foggy and Matt were still shell shocked that they were actually about to have another client after their blonde receptionist's case. The Mansfield woman gave the man a polite smile as she took a step towards him before she held out her hand. Amelia waited until the brunette man shook her head before she introduced herself, "Amelia Mansfield."

The female defense attorney waited until the man released her hand before she pointed towards each person in the room as she introduced everyone as well, "this is Foggy Nelson and Matthew Murdock along with her our associate, Karen Page." The Mansfield woman watched as the man looked at each person in the room before she turned her body to the side and uttered, "please follow me and we can continue this talk in the conference room."

The unknown man nodded his head once and murmured, "thank you." He gave the brunette woman one of his wide and toothy grins that reminded Amelia of an evil scientist before he followed after the defense attorney with the three other members of M.M.N. Associates following closely behind like a pack of lost puppies into the large conference room.

"Please, have a seat anywhere you would like," Amelia told the unknown man while she waved her hand across the room as she continued with her business savvy-self. The Mansfield woman watched as the man immediately took the seat at the head of the glass table that Tony had purchased before she, Matt, Foggy, and Karen took their own seats around their potential client. Amelia waited until everyone was situated at the glass table before she asked the man and trailed off since he still haven't gave his name, "so, how can M.M.N. Associates be a service to you today, Mr..."

"I represent a consortium with diversified interests in the private sector, both domestic and international," the unknown man immediately began as he got down to business while he completely passed over Amelia's attempt of gaining his identity. "From time to time, we scout the landscape for promising talent to put on retainer," the unknown man continued as he explained why he had popped into the newest law firm of Hell's Kitchen.

The Nelson man couldn't help but chuckle in astonishment when he heard the last word come out of the nicely dressed man's mouth. "Retainer?" Foggy slowly asked as he needed to be sure that this wasn't just another one of his dreams when someone rich would walk through M.M.N. Associates and promise them thousands of dollars.

The unknown man simply nodded his head with a wide grin plastered across his face and hummed in agreement as he affirmed what the Nelson man was thinking.

Matt couldn't help but to glance over to his two associates for a quick moment with brows deeply furrowed while he could feel the same expression on Foggy and Amelia's face as well since this whole ordeal didn't exactly make sense. "Why are you approaching us?" The Murdock lawyer inquired as he voiced his confusion. "Why not a larger firm, Mr. uh..." Matt continued with his questioning before he trailed off when he remembered that they still didn't know the man's name.

However, once again, the unknown man ignored the silent question of his identity when he simply stated as if it would answer all of the defense attorneys' questions while he lazily folded his arms across the glass table, "Confederated Global Investments is my employer."

Matt let a small smile briefly rise onto his lips that only held annoyance for the man in front of him before he uttered in his usual polite voice, "it's not what I was asking."

The unknown man released an amused chuckle before he stated, "it's the only name relevant to this discussion, Mr. Murdock." The brunette man thought if he threw out his employer's name out there that there wouldn't be an issue about his identity when everyone in the state of New York knew what type of money it would bring in to be on retainer for Confederated Global Investments.

"Oh," Matt simply murmured before he shot the unknown man another small but friendly smile to hide the fact that he was starting to become annoyed with all this dodging of questions. However, Matt knew this would happen one day when he became a defense attorney, so the Murdock lawyer took a deep breath before he asked, "so, why us?"

Before the unknown man could have the chance to respond, though, the Nelson man quickly jumped in as he stated confidently, "obviously, the larger firms aren't able to provide the same hands-on attention we pride ourselves on at Murdock, Mansfield, and Nelson Associates." Foggy knew from past experiences that not everyone could take Matt's blunt words, so he knew that he had to jump in to attempt to keep the guy interested in working with M.M.N. Associates.

"It's a fair question," the unknown man uttered with a small shrug of his shoulders and a nod of his head while he slowly tapped his point finger against the glass table. The brunette man stared at each face around the table for a moment before he straightened up his body and began his grand speech to get the attorneys on his side, "I'm here because my employer does extensive business in Hell's Kitchen and who knows it better than two local boys who graduated from Columbia Law - Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude - along with their best friend who's taken her studies from the mafia empire in Long Island to Malibu before settling back in New York to graduate with Magna Cum Laude honors."

While Foggy felt proud and Matt felt curious about the fact that the unknown man knew their law school history, the Mansfield woman was extremely suspicious. Amelia didn't mind that he did his research on their education but the fact that he mentioned her hometown - a detail that no one was supposed to know about except for Nick Fury and, of course, her adopted brother Tony.

"You set up shop right here in your backyard," the unknown man uttered as he continued with his knowledge of the three defense attorneys. The brunette man turned his gaze onto the two men as he stated, "despite the fact that you two were made a very lucrative offer from Landman and Zack in Manhattan where you all interned." The unknown man then turned his brown irises onto Amelia before he added, "and you, Ms. Mansfield, were offered a job with some very important clientele with the employees of the 'Big A' in the sky."

Amelia didn't like this conversation one bit. She didn't like that this man, who she didn't even know, was hinting towards her relationship with the people in the Avengers tower. The fact that the unknown man knew there was even a connection with the Earth's Mightiest Heroes - and that she was one as well - made Amelia very suspicious and untrustworthy of their potential client.

However, Amelia knew that she couldn't show face right now - at least not until she got some more information about the guy and how he knew certain things. Instead, the Mansfield woman only stared across at the unknown man with her green eyes slight furrowed while she tried to get a read on him before she simply commented, "you've done your research."

The unknown man couldn't help but to grin widely as he loved watching the many different emotions flicker across Amelia's face or should he say Sergeant Viper's face. He found it absolutely amusing that the skilled assassin and agent was trying to figure him out when he knew it wouldn't happen seeing as he is very careful with his identity. The unknown man had to remind himself who he was dealing with, though, so he quickly wiped off his excited grin after a minute or so before he nodded his head and calmly stated, "my employer expects no less."

"Well, if your employer expects no less then I hope you can forgive me for being so blunt," the Murdock lawyer instantly countered as he was having the exact frame of mind that Amelia was having. Matt just felt like something was off with the man seated in M.M.N. Associates' conference room. He just gave off this bad vibe that Matt couldn't find it in himself to trust and he wasn't going to stop until he figured it out.

However, though, before Matt could say anything more to get to the bottom of the strange man in front of him, he was soon interrupted when Foggy quickly and nervously jumped in, "blunt is a strong word." The long haired defense attorney knew that he had to say something before Matt could ruin this perfect opportunity for their firm to make actual money with all of his bluntness that Matt somehow could never turn off.

The unknown man didn't find Matt's words offensive like Foggy had thought he would. Instead, the brunette man grinned and chuckled like a maniac before he calmly told the three defense attorneys with a small shrug of his shoulders, "in my line of work, I find it refreshing."

"And what is this line of work that you do?" The suspicious Mansfield woman interrogated with a twitch of her head. Amelia shot the man a sarcastic smile before she innocently added, "for research purposes, of course." Amelia lightly pointed at the man as she defended her questioning, "like your employer, I like to know who we could be working with as well."

Foggy, once again, quickly jumped in the middle of the conversation before the unknown man could get a chance to say anything or change his mind about working with M.M.N. Associates. "What my two partners are trying to say is that we're still building a practice, so we're very particular about our clientele," Foggy hurriedly uttered while he shot both Amelia and Matt a glare as he tried to save their meeting with a large business in CGI.

"I assure you," the unknown man began as he glanced between the three defense attorneys, "all my employer wants is for you to continue to be ethical, decent men and woman - good lawyers." The brunette man shot the lawyers a quick smile before he reached his right hand into his designer suit and pulled out an envelope as he continued with his speech, "and for that, for nothing more than your exceptional skills and your discretion, you'll be fairly compensated." The unknown man let his words soak into the three attorneys in front of him before he passed the envelope over to Foggy Nelson - the one person that hadn't been too suspicious of his presence.

The ever-so curious long haired male slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the check before he saw what Confederated Global Investments was willing to pay M.M.N. Associates for their services. Foggy's brown eyes immediately widened when he saw the number before he mumbled in complete shock, "uh, huh." The Nelson man shakily chuckled and shook his head in disbelief before he stuttered out as he thought of all of that money, "it's... It's fair. That's... That's fair."

The unknown man chuckled in amusement as he watched the reaction from Foggy over the check before he calmed down and nodded his head towards Amelia and Matt. "Your partners don't seem convinced," the unknown man uttered as he hoped that the Nelson lawyer would be able to convince the two suspicious lawyers in working with CGI.

Amelia pushed the check that she had glanced at towards the middle of the large glass table before she stared directly at the unknown man with an emotionless expression as she continued to try to get a read on the man. "I'm sure you can understand since you did do your research on us," the Mansfield woman stated after a moment of silence with a condescending smile before she explained, "we are very cautious about which clientele we defend with our fairly new law practice. We wouldn't want to be known as defending scumbags."

The unknown man twitched his head to the side with amusement shining throughout his brown irises as he stared right back at the suspicious woman for a moment before he countered, "I'm curious about your clientele." The brunette man glanced over to the blonde woman, who was sitting on Amelia's left, before he inquired with a slight smile, "do they all end up working for you after you get them off for murder or is just the pretty ones?"

The conference room at M.M.N. Associates immediately grew with a tense silence after the unknown man's words with Karen breathing irregularly, Foggy shocked, Matt calm like he always is, and Amelia angry. The Mansfield woman didn't like that the unknown man was targeting Karen like that but she knew this wasn't the time to start anything. Amelia knew it would be unprofessional of her, so the brunette woman shot Karen an assuring smile with her soft green eyes as she silently tried to offer the blonde woman some comfort about something that haunts Karen every second of every day.

The Murdock lawyer was the one that ultimately ended up breaking the tense silence after about a full three minutes as he turned his head in the direction of the fast beating heartbeat. "Could you, uh, give us a minute, please?" Matt politely and calmly asked the blonde woman in question.

Karen was still in complete shock that her case was brought up as she slowly pulled herself up from the black rolling chair and anxiously mumbled out, "um... Yeah, okay," before she hurriedly rushed out of the conference room. The Page woman couldn't help but to feel completely nervous as she walked away as the man, who she had noticed made almost everyone uncomfortable, knew about her situation. It also worried her that she could end up messing up a big opportunity for M.M.N. Associates by her working here after they defended her.

"I'm sorry," the unknown man apologized once the glass door had closed behind the blonde woman - even though they all knew that he wasn't actually sorry for his words by the small grin playing on his lips, "I didn't mean to upset anyone."

"How did you know about Miss Page's situation?" The Murdock lawyer immediately interrogated with a frown as he completely ignored the unknown man's apology. Matt lightly shook his head in confusion to how someone could have found out about what happened with Karen before the defense attorney stated, "she was never charged and there was nothing in the papers."

The Mansfield woman, who had been watching the unknown man like a hawk, tucked her hand underneath her chin before she inquired with a hint of curiousness and suspicion in her voice, "how far do you really go with your research for your employer?" Amelia shot the unknown man a sarcastic smile before she added in an innocent tone, "or do you only dig up our dirt to get your way?"

The brunette lawyer was really starting to hate the unknown man by the second. Amelia didn't like that he knew about her having a relationship with the Avengers but also because he knew about Karen's situation. She, Foggy, and Matt had all made sure to keep everything under wraps that dealt with Karen's case to make sure that she was safe - and as Karen's new friend, Amelia didn't like that this man could end up putting Karen back into danger with that information.

The unknown man lightly chuckled in amusement at how annoyed and protective that the secret Avenger was getting over the blonde woman. It was something that he had learned from his main employer - who had a history with the defense attorney back in the day when she was growing up in Long Island.

"I have friends on the force," the unknown man finally stated after another minute or so of staring across at the suspicious Mansfield woman. The brunette man glanced at the two other lawyers before he added with a small smirk playing on his lips, "I hear I'm not the only one."

Foggy immediately began to nervously chuckle at the fact that the rich man in front of them knew about how they had gained their first client with the help of the Mahoney man at the police station. "I think we might be veering off the subject," the Nelson man anxiously murmured as he prayed that they could get off of this conversation.

Luckily for Foggy, the unknown man did get off the conversation that was making the long haired man nervous by telling the two lawyers, who weren't sold on working for his employer, "I understand your concerns, Mr. Murdock and Ms. Mansfield." The unknown man waved his hand before he suggested, "perhaps you all should review one of our cases before you make a decision?" The man lightly shrugged his shoulders before he commented, "you know, for peace of mind and whatnot."

"That's a fantastic idea!" Foggy quickly exclaimed before Amelia or Matt could jump in - like he knew they would try to do. The Nelson man looked over to his fellow associates before he asked them in a nervous voice as he hoped that they would just agree while they currently had one foot into the money-making door, "Matthew? Amelia?"

It took a few tense moments of silence before the Murdock lawyer slowly nodded his head and muttered out an agreement, "yeah, what harm could it do?" Matt knew it was best to just agree right now - at least until he could find out more about the unknown man in front of them.

Everyone's attention in the conference room of M.M.N. Associates was then immediately placed onto Amelia, who continued to stare at the unknown man, after two out of three of the defense attorneys agreed to look into CGI's old cases. The Mansfield woman kept silent until she heard the annoying sound of Foggy clearing his throat before she uttered with a fake and polite smile, "of course. It would be rude of us to not at least check it out."

Like Matt, the brunette woman decided to give the unknown man what he wanted for the time being. It was just easier that way and to act normal until she or Joseph could find any information on this guy - starting with his name. Amelia didn't like that he knew all this information about her and her friends. The moment he opened his mouth, the Mansfield woman knew something was up and she knew now she was right to not trust the guy. There was just something off about him that bothered Amelia more than she was used to.

"Excellent!" The unknown man cheered once he knew that he had all members of M.M.N. Associates to agree to look into CGI's cases - which brought him that much closer to having the local law firm on retainer. The brunette man was especially happy to have the stubborn and protective Mansfield woman's agreement since he had been told she would be the toughest to crack.

The unknown man shot the group of defense attorneys a quick smile before he pushed himself back against the black rolling chair and glanced down to the silver Cartier watch adoring his right wrist. The man silently nodded his head to himself when he saw the time before he told the lawyers in his calm and relaxed voice, "you have thirty-eight minutes to get to Precinct 15."

"W-What?" The Nelson lawyer immediately stuttered out in disbelief about what he had just heard before he quickly glanced over to Matt and Amelia with his brown eyes widened in shock. However, when neither of the defense attorneys would spare him a glance or give any indication that they heard the same thing he had, Foggy quickly turned back to face the unknown man before he continued to ask in his confused tone, "now? What's the case?"

The unknown man slowly slid a plain vanilla file, that he had pulled from his leather briefcase, across the glass table before he answered all of Foggy's questions, "everything you need is in this file." The brunette man released a small chuckle and placed his usual grin on his face while he watched the Nelson man before he stood up from the table when he saw the Murdock lawyer do the same. The unknown man buttoned up his blue suit jacket as he glanced at the three defense attorneys before he politely uttered, "thank you for your time."

"No," Foggy instantly began from his seat at the glass conference table as he opened up the file that would lead to M.M.N. Associates to have money for the first time in their careers before he offered his praise, "thank you." The Nelson man kept his brown eyes on the man until he reached the door before he trailed off, "thank you very..."

However, Foggy immediately ended his sentence of praise when the door finally closed behind their potential client as he swiftly turned his hard eyes onto Matt. "What is your problem?" The Nelson man interrogated his best friend before he quickly turned to Amelia and asked as well, "and what about you?" Foggy pointed over to the Murdock lawyer before he added in irritation, "you're turning into Matt, over here, with you trying to scare off our potential client." Foggy frowned at the brunette woman before he commented, "you're usually the professional one with your wanting to give everyone a fighting chance."

The Murdock lawyer released a heavy sigh once Foggy had ended his ranting of their meeting with the employer from Confederated Global Investments before he simply uttered one of the many reasons why he wasn't on board with this particular client, "he wouldn't even give us his name, Foggy."

Amelia nodded her head in agreement before she told the long haired male as she crossed her arms over her baby blue blazer with a frown embedded on her face, "Matt's right, Franklin." The Mansfield woman lightly shook her head as she explained part of her thought process, "something's just seems off about this guy."

The main part of Amelia's thought process couldn't exactly be said out loud to the two defense attorneys as the Mansfield woman couldn't mention how the unknown man practically knew about her relationship with the Avengers. It was something that she wanted to keep from her two best friends for as long as possible. Amelia didn't want to be known as Sergeant Viper to them as she felt normal with Matt and Foggy. Plus, Amelia knew that she would be just putting them into danger if any of her enemies found out that the assassin that is Sergeant Viper for a lawyer in Hell's Kitchen with two best friends.

The Nelson man shook his head in irritation before he told Matt, "you wouldn't care if you could see the zeros on this check." Foggy then glanced over to the brunette woman and exclaimed as he didn't understand why Amelia was so against working with CGI, "and you even saw the amount for yourself, Amelia!"

"Yeah," the Murdock lawyer quietly mumbled as he moved away from the large glass table and headed towards the front door of the conference room before he countered back towards the long haired man as he muttered, "maybe you would if you couldn't."

Foggy loudly huffed at the Murdock lawyer's simple words that annoyed the long haired man since he was getting nowhere with Matt nor Amelia. "We're running out of time!" The Nelson man shouted to his stubborn associates after he had took a quick glance towards his cheap watch and remembered the time frame that the unknown man had gave them to be at the police station.

"I'll meet you guys there," the Murdock lawyer simply murmured before he quickly exited out of the conference room without giving his best friends another glance. Matt was dead set on finding out any information that he could about the unknown man - which is why he was rushing out of M.M.N. Associates to follow the unknown man to better understand who he was with his sensitive hearing.

"Meet us?" Foggy questioned in confusion as his face scrunched up. The Nelson man glanced over to Amelia before he stammered out, "the hell are you going? Matt?" However, Foggy loudly sighed when he noticed that Matt was already gone before he turned his body towards Amelia and asked, "what the hell is his problem?" Foggy shook his head in irritation before he, once again, ranted off, "It's a new client! I don't know why you guys are so against this."

The Mansfield woman released a small sigh before she explained why she was so against this new client, "stuff just doesn't add up, Fog. He knows too much about all of our situations for it just be research on a new law firm." Amelia lightly shook her head before she concluded, "there's just something about this whole ordeal that doesn't make sense." The brunette woman had always loved solving puzzles since she was a little girl, but this one, she just couldn't solve as to why CGI is willing to dig up their personal dirt to gain them for their company. Amelia knew that there had to be a deeper reason than to just have a small firm in Hell's Kitchen on their retainer.

Amelia shot her long haired best friend a small smile after a moment as she could see the annoyance and exhaustion in his brown eyes before she softly murmured, "I'll meet you in the lobby." The Mansfield woman gave her friend's shoulder a small squeeze before she silently exited out of the conference room with her thoughts clouded about their potential client and the information that he had on Karen's case and the truth behind Amelia's life in Long Island and with the Avengers.

Amelia always liked to be the only person in the room with the most information, so with this man that she had never even seen before had the upper hand, it made the brunette woman quite on edge. Amelia didn't like that the unknown man could possibly know about her connection with the Avengers. The only people that know about her involvement with the Avengers were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers themselves.

However, a thought instantly made Amelia come to a stop in the middle of the hallway as she went through her thought process of the unknown man. _What if it has to do with the anonymous letters?_ The Mansfield woman asked herself as she remembered one of the photographs that she had received - the one of her and Natasha a.k.a. Black Widow. Amelia knew whoever was sending those messages had to be connected with the D'Antoni family since they sent her to her deceased mother's old business, so it could be possible that the unknown man could be connected to someone within the D'Antoni family since they knew of her real identity as an Avenger.

Amelia huffed out a heavy sigh as she continued to walk through the hallways of the building where M.M.N. Associates was located with her thoughts all jumbled around. She hated not having all the answers right now but the Mansfield woman swore as she made her way towards the lobby that she was going to get to the bottom of who this unknown man was and what he wanted with M.M.N. Associates.

* * *

 _While I was writing this chapter and mentioned Amelia having a past with Bucky … I thought it would make a cool short story about how Bucky and Amelia met, fell in love, and the ending of their relationship. I might make it into a story if anyone is interested. Let me know._

 _xoxo_


	9. The Case

The two defense attorneys of M.M.N. Associates, Foggy Nelson and Amelia Mansfield, made it to Precinct 15's police station with only seven minutes to spare from the thirty-eight that their mysterious client had gave them. The two long haired lawyers tried calling their missing partner, Matt Murdock, every minute but when it got down to the last second, they both decided to just start the interview as they prayed that Matt would show up sometime during the time with their client.

While Foggy was actually interested in the case and this big opportunity of obtaining some cash for the first time in their careers, Amelia was very suspicious of their client and what he knew about her. The Mansfield woman figured that if they took on this case, then it would give her time to investigate their client without any red flags going up since it would look like that she was just looking into their client like any normal lawyer would.

The Nelson man and the Mansfield woman were currently sitting in a cold, dark, and stale interrogation room at Precinct 15 with the guy that their client wanted them to represent - a Mr. John Healy of Hell's Kitchen. "So, what exactly happened, Mr. Healy?" Foggy began the questioning for M.M.N. Associates as he tried to understand the case that they would be dealing with. "In your own words," the Nelson lawyer requested as he stared across at the balding man with cuts and scrapes littering his whole face.

"All I wanted was to throw a few balls," John Healy muttered as his brown irises bounced off the two well dressed lawyers in front of him. The man, who was currently being questioned, lightly shook his head before he added to his statement, "the lady at the shoe counter will tell you the same."

Amelia, who had the case file lying in front of her, glanced down at the words that she possibly read at least a dozen times on the way over to the police station on the subway before she looked back up to their client with an amused glint to her green irises from the man's words. "The lady at the shoe counter, a Ms. Pierce, also mentioned that you crushed the deceased's skull in with a bowling ball," the Mansfield woman summed up what she had read from the witness's statement before she inquired with a twitch of her head, "how do you explain that?"

The Healy man lightly shrugged his tense shoulders as he muttered, "self-defense." John aimlessly messed and shook the cold, metal handcuffs around his wrists against the steel table for a moment before he told the defense attorneys about what took place at the bowling alley, "the man and his whatever they were... They threatened my life."

That piece of information immediately caught both Amelia and Foggy's attention as that was something that they didn't know yet. The two lawyers quickly pulled out their notebooks and flipped to a fresh page so they could write down anymore information that Mr. Healy could give them to help his case. "They threatened you how?" The Nelson man inquired as he uncapped his blue pen before he continued with his questioning as he asked, "verbally? Physically?"

John twitched his head to the side like the brunette woman had done as he moved his brown irises between the two defense attorneys for a tense moment before he leaned across the table as far as he could go with his handcuffs. The Healy man shot the two lawyers a sly smile before he asked them, "which sounds better?"

The Mansfield woman's green eyes instantly widened in surprise that she couldn't help but ask the balding man across from her in a high pitched voice, "uh, excuse me? Could you repeat that again?" Amelia knew that she had been out of the spy and assassin business for awhile, seven months to be exact, but she couldn't help but to be shocked by how easy going the man in front of her was being when he was facing a murder charge.

John Healy shot the brunette woman a wide and creepy grin as he loved the shock that he got out of her before he glanced between the two defense attorneys with an emotionless gaze. "They threatened me both verbally and physically," the Healy man stated as if he hadn't just asked which option sounded better for his case.

The Nelson lawyer took a nervous glance over to his associate when the room grew tense with silence as he tried to judge Amelia's facial expression to see if she had heard the same thing that he did. However, when Foggy noticed the Mansfield woman slowly nodding her head, the Nelson man awkwardly cleared his throat as he decided to move past that small slip up as he remembered all the cash that was on the table for M.M.N. Associates. "So, you say you didn't know or have never met Mr. Prohaszka prior to last night?" Foggy inquired as he tried to get a more clear understanding of the case.

The Healy man slowly shook his head as he quietly muttered, "no." John went silent for another moment as he glanced between the two defense attorneys, once again, before he continued with even more calmness to his voice that he had learned to prefect over the years as he stated, "but I do regret any injurious consequences my actions may have caused."

The Mansfield woman raised an eyebrow at the balding man as she leaned back into the steel metal chair in the interrogation room. "What is your furthest education, if you do not mind me asking?" Amelia curiously wondered.

John furrowed his brows as he stared across at the brunette woman before he mumbled as he briefly shook his head, "I, uh... I dropped out in eleventh grade if my memory serves me correctly."

Amelia slowly nodded her head as she accepted his answer before the brunette lawyer inquired, "so, I figure this isn't your first time being in a situation like this?" The Mansfield woman knew that no good, law-biding citizen would have the knowledge that the Healy man was using if he was just some normal high school drop-out. He definitely wouldn't be using words that defendants in a courtroom would use to get them out of a serious case if he was just a normal citizen of Hell's Kitchen.

John Healy stared right back at the brunette woman with his brown irises squinted as he recalled his boss, James Wesley, mentioning to be careful around Amelia before he cautiously nodded his head as he tried to figure what game she was playing at. "Yes," John finally muttered in the same emotionless voice before he let a small grin play on his lips as he added, "I had issues. I'm better now."

The Nelson lawyer moved his brown eyes over to one of his partners in crime and showed Amelia the panic and distrust that he felt for John Healy. The duo of defense attorneys then began a silent conversation as Foggy hurriedly shook his head and Amelia nodded hers as the Mansfield woman wanted to keep their client happy by taking on this low life's case so she could look into him while Foggy thought the complete opposite. Foggy absolutely didn't want anything to do with this guy, so he ignored Amelia's widened green eyes as he took a deep breath before he focused back onto the balding man.

"On second thought, Mr. Healy," the Nelson lawyer anxiously began as he aimlessly played with the blue pen between his fingers before he stated to shut down this deal before they got too involved in it, "uh, perhaps our firm isn't the right fit for you."

However, before the Mansfield woman could jump in and try to make this work so she could look into their client or before Foggy could finally end the conversation, they were all too soon interrupted by the third partner of M.M.N. Associates making his presence known. "Sorry I'm late," Matt apologized before he cleared his throat as he silently made his way further into the interrogation room and an officer closed and locked the door behind him.

"Uh, no, no," the Nelson man quickly exclaimed as to say that there was no need for Matt to apologize. Foggy shot his fellow associate in the Mansfield woman a glare before he told the Murdock lawyer an excuse so they could get out of this situation, "I was just explaining to Mr. Healy that we, uh, have a full caseload right now, so -"

However, before Foggy could complete his sentence, the Mansfield woman quickly interrupted him before he could seal their fate and she wouldn't be able to look into this mysterious client of theirs as Amelia told the Murdock man, "we were just having a small disagreement about taking on Mr. Healy as a client."

 _I could always call up Nat to look into the mysterious man,_ the Mansfield woman thought to herself before she mentally shook her head as she decided that she didn't want to bother Natasha when she and Steve were on a mission with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Matt slowly nodded his head as he walked around the interrogation room before he placed his walking cane against the double sided mirror. "Well, I guess I'll settle that argument then," the Murdock lawyer muttered as he took a seat between his two fellow lawyers. Matt stared in the direction of the man in question before he stated, "we'd be happy to represent you, Mr. Healy."

The Nelson man hurriedly looked over to his two fellow lawyers, the calm Murdock and the grinning Mansfield, like they had just lost their damn minds. "What?" Foggy exclaimed as he threw his arms in the air as he didn't understand why Matt would want to represent this guy when he hadn't even read the facts yet and why Amelia would want to after she listened to John Healy's story about how he would say whatever he needed to say to get off the hook for the murder he committed. These were not the type of people that they had all agreed to represent when they became a team.

"We're taking the case," Matt simply uttered as he completely ignored the anger and the annoyance that he could obviously hear in the long haired's man voice.

"Majority rules, Franklin," the Mansfield woman exclaimed as she looked over to the Nelson man with a light shrug of her shoulders and a small grin playing on her lips. Amelia was extremely grateful that Matt wanting to take the case like she did. However, the Mansfield woman wasn't sure why Matt was being so careless when he haven't heard anything about John's crimes - that part confused Amelia but she would worry about that later. Right now, Amelia knew that she needed to focus onto the man in front of her and whatever information that he could give about his case - and about the mysterious man that was going to pay them for representing Mr. Healy.

The Murdock lawyer, once again, cleared his throat before Foggy could start to complain about wanting to take this case. Matt knew that they needed to stay professional, so he focused back onto their client as he requested, "why don't we start from the beginning? Tell me everything you know." However, when the interrogation room stayed tense with silence, the Murdock lawyer continued as he inquired as he figured John was afraid to speak out because he might think they would incriminate him further, "would you like us to reiterate the terms of attorney-client privilege, Mr. Healy?"

John looked up at the newest lawyer in the room before he dumbly murmured as if this was his first rodeo with the law and he wasn't a repeat offender, "I think I got it."

Matt slowly nodded his head before he informed John Healy to fully gain his trust and for him to start talking about what happened with the murder at the bowling alley, "then you know anything you tell us stays in this room."

The Healy man carelessly leaned back in the steel chair before he muttered to show that he knew exactly what the Murdock lawyer was talking about and to show the carelessness that he felt about this whole ordeal, "just like church."

The three defense attorneys all glanced at one another in an uneasy silence before the Murdock man decided to take another crack at their client. Matt took a deep breath as he prepared for another round of questioning before he simply commented in a relaxed and calm voice, "you must be a very important man."

John lifted one of his bruised eyebrows at the Murdock lawyer before he asked in the same laid back voice that he had been using through the whole interrogation process, "is that a question?"

Matt slightly shook his head as he muttered, "statement." The Murdock lawyer silently crossed his arms over the cold, steel table before he explained why he thought John was a very important person, "it's not everyday a global investment firm picks up the tab for a murder suspect."

"Self-defense," the Healy man instantly corrected the Murdock lawyer with a hint of growl in his voice before he quickly corrected himself and continued with his dumb and innocent act as he silently blinked at the three lawyers in front of him.

"I wonder if you could shed some light on the man that hired us to represent you," Matt requested as he completely ignored the way their client had corrected him when it was all same when it had to deal with a murder.

"I don't think I can, counselor," John mumbled as he shook his head with a sly grin playing on his lips as if he knew something that the lawyers didn't know.

The Murdock man's line of questioning immediately piqued the interest of Amelia's mind as that was what had been bothering ever since this morning with the mysterious guy who had knocked on M.M.N. Associates' front door. "You can't or you won't?" The Mansfield woman inquired as she raised an eyebrow at their client before she muttered, "because it seems to me that you're hiding something."

The Nelson lawyer couldn't help but furrow his brows in confusion as he didn't understand why the atmosphere was so tense around his fellow lawyers and best friends pertaining to the guy that hired them. "Uh..." Foggy awkwardly mumbled before he asked as he tried to reel the conversation back in, "maybe we should focus on details pertinent to the case?"

"I'm just trying to build a solid defense," the Murdock lawyer defended his line of questioning before he explained to his male best friend, "and the connection between Mr. Healy and the man that came to our offices might just prove his innocence."

The Nelson man furrowed his brows in confusion as he moved his brown irises passed Amelia and over to Matt. "How?" Foggy wondered as he didn't understand how knowing John Healy's associates with the man that hired them would help out their current murder case.

Matt let out a small, amused chuckle at his best friend before he stated with a light shrug of his shoulders, "maybe they're old friends. Maybe he's a character witness."

The Mansfield woman shook her head as she continued to stare bullet holes into John Healy's brown irises. "That isn't it, is it?" Amelia interrogated the balding man as she folded her hands on top of the freezing metal table. "Big corporations like Confederated Global Investments don't just help random people out of the goodness of their hearts," the brunette woman commented with a slight twitch to her head before she inquired, "you worked with them before they 'randomly' decided to pay for your law troubles, isn't that right, Mr. Healy?"

John nervously twitched in his seat from the cold and hard stare from the woman, who had been completely calm and polite ever since she had walked into the interrogation room. _This is what James meant when he warned me about her,_ the Healy man soon realized before he had to remind himself to relax. "I-I just wanted to throw a few balls, just like I-I keep saying," John finally sputtered out as he moved his brown eyes over to Foggy Nelson - the less likely person in the room to be suspicious of his case like the other two lawyers were.

"You go bowling often, Mr. Healy?" The Murdock lawyer questioned not even a second later to not give the man enough time to think of any lies or cover-up stories.

John lightly shrugged his shoulders before he muttered with a sly smile lifted onto the right side of his bruised and bloody face, "when the mood hits."

"And the deceased," the Murdock lawyer began before he continued with his questioning as he hoped and prayed that it would cause the Healy man to crack and lose this easiness that he had about murdering a man in cold blood, "he had no motive that you can recall?"

The Healy man took a slow and deep breath before he finally shook his head. "No," John muttered as he tried to remain as calm as he could when the two out of the three lawyers were already suspicious of him.

"You didn't provoke him intentionally or otherwise?" Foggy continued with his partner's questioning as he tried to get an understanding of the case and how John Healy could have killed the man at the bowling alley.

"Are you sure he didn't do something to piss you off?" The Mansfield woman inquired as she rose an eyebrow at John Healy to, hopefully, get a reaction out of him outside of his composed attitude. Amelia had this feeling that something was off with this case and she didn't like it. It all smelt fishy to Amelia down to their mysterious client and the killing at the bowling alley.

The Mansfield woman knew from experience, if you want someone to open up to you then you have to friendly and see things their way. Amelia innocently lifted her hands in the air before she muttered, "I wouldn't blame you if you did." The Mansfield woman released a small chuckle before she stated as she tried to connect with the Healy man, "I mean, if someone was bothering me while I was playing basketball, I would have beat their head in, too."

John Healy felt extremely tense as the brunette woman continued to speak. The Mansfield woman made John Healy equally nervous and anxious as he knew from what James had told him that Amelia could be very unpredictable and dangerous whenever she wanted. "Uh," John anxiously muttered as he glanced away from Amelia's hard stare before he questioned as he avoided their interrogation, "are we breaking for lunch anytime soon?"

The Murdock lawyer completely ignored John's questioning about lunch as he continued to interrogate their client, "are you at all afraid of what might happen if we lose this case, Mr. Healy?"

John let out a small chuckle as he shook his head before he muttered, "no." The Healy man raised one of his bruised eyebrows at the Murdock lawyer before he asked right back, "are you?" John wasn't even in slightest bit afraid that he would go to prison. He knew that he would off this murder charge one way or another when he had all the right people backing him up to keep him on the outside.

The interrogation room in Precinct 15 was tense as there was a stare off between Amelia, Matt, and their client for about a minute or so before the Nelson lawyer nervously chuckled. "Uh," Foggy awkwardly muttered as he glanced over to his fellow associates before he requested, "Amelia, Matt, may I have a word, please?" It took Foggy loudly clearing his throat before Amelia and Matt finally moved their hard gaze off of the Healy man.

"Please, excuse us," the Mansfield woman politely muttered as she shot their client a sickening sweet smile that could kill before she and Matt stood up from the metal table and followed their fellow associate to the furthest corner in the very small and stuffy interrogation room.

Foggy took a nervous glance back at their client before he hurriedly shouted in a small whisper as he glanced between both Amelia and Matt, who obviously wanted to take this case, "we should not be doing this!"

The Murdock lawyer furrowed his brows underneath his dark sunglasses. "Doing what?" Matt questioned as he stared in the direction of his best friend while he played dumb as if he didn't already know what Foggy's problem was.

The Nelson man tossed his arms in the air with annoyance shining all across his face before he practically screeched as he glared at his two best friends and fellow associates, "defending professional criminals!"

Amelia released a small sigh as she stared at the frustrated Nelson man. "Foggy, you knew when we signed up for this job that it wasn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows or always fighting for the good guys," the Mansfield woman comforted her best friend before she added, "you knew there was going to a little coal in your stockings every now and again." Amelia felt bad that Foggy was completely against the idea of taking this client but she couldn't let John Healy and the mysterious man slip through her fingers before she even began to research them.

"Stop speaking in riddles, Amelia!" The Nelson man snapped in annoyance as he glared at the brunette woman. Foggy was just completely done at this point. It felt like he was in a losing battle with Amelia and Matt on the same side - just like how it used to be in law school when they would have a disagreement.

"You're the one that keeps saying we need real clients," the Murdock lawyer commented with a small shrug of his shoulders as he used Foggy's previous words against him.

Foggy swiftly shook his head as he completely changed his mind about taking on the Healy man. "That's not a client," the Nelson lawyer yelled in a whisper as he pointed towards the man in questioning before he practically screeched, once again, as he exclaimed, "that's a shark in a skin suit!" Foggy focused his brown irises onto Matt before he mumbled, "you pegged it back at the office. There's something off about this whole thing."

The Mansfield woman knew that she needed Foggy to be on board to represent John Healy so she could look into their mysterious man and how he knew about her secret life. Amelia lightly placed her hand onto the Nelson man's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before she softly uttered to finally convince him that they needed to do this, "Fog, we don't really have a choice anymore. We already agreed to represent him."

"Amelia's right," the Murdock lawyer quickly muttered in agreement as he slowly nodded his head. "We're gonna try this case and let the jury take it from there," Matt told Foggy their course of action before he turned around and walked back towards their client. "Mr. Healy, uh," the Murdock lawyer began before he lightly cleared his throat and took a seat at the cold and metal table.

"I suggest we waive criminal procedure law 180.80 - give the DA more time to explore a plea," Matt gave his expert opinion to M.M.N. Associates' client before he requested, "in the meantime, the best thing for you to do is to be forthcoming with us and together, we'll confront the charges honestly, opening, and within the moral confines of the law." The Murdock lawyer slightly twitched his head to the side as he stared in the direction of the man in question before he wondered, "does that sound good to you?"

John Healy released a long and slow sigh as his brown irises bounced off of the three lawyers for a few tense moments of silence before he finally muttered a simple, "no."

The Nelson man's brown eyes practically popped out of his head when he head the two letter word come out of their client's mouth. "Excuse me?" Foggy gaped as he stared at the Healy man as if he had completely gone crazy during his one night in the local Precinct.

"I want the 180.80 date," John explained his reasoning before he stated, "if I'm indicted, which we all know I will be, we'll waive all hearings and discovering and go directly to trial." The Healy man settled his brown eyes onto the brunette woman before he uttered with a small smirk playing on his swollen lips, "this isn't my first time in this situation, remember?"

The Murdock lawyer released a heavy sigh before he informed their client if this was the route that he wanted to go through, "well, then, you'll need to testify."

The Healy man slightly shook his head before he stated with a relaxed smile proudly displayed across his bruised and bloody face, "I'm just gonna have faith in our judicial system." John then immediately lost his smile as he gave each of the defense attorneys a hard stare before he concluded in an emotionless voice, "and you're gonna do your jobs."

The Mansfield woman couldn't help but raise one of her perfectly done eyebrows in amusement at the Healy's man threatening words. "Is that so?" Amelia questioned as she leaned her body over the metal table and peered down at their client with a hard and threatening look to her green irises.

"It's that simple, sweetheart," John stated with a wide grin plastered across his lips. The Healy man leaned back in the metal and uncomfortable chair as if he didn't have a care in the world before he informed the three defense attorneys while he kept his brown gaze locked solely on the Mansfield woman, "and, uh, as for the man who hired you - all you need to know is that his check's gonna clear."

Amelia continued to keep her green glare on M.M.N. Associates' client as he basically taunted her with the identity of the mysterious man who was playing them for their services. It annoyed the Mansfield woman so much because the mysterious man had a upper hand against her with knowing her secrets. However, as Amelia stared across at the grinning Healy man, she swore that she would stop at nothing to find out who their client really was.

The interview between M.M.N. Associates and John Healy only lasted for a few more minutes with their client not really giving the trio of lawyers anymore information before the Healy man shouted out to the police officer from outside of the interrogation room. John requested that he'd be taken back to see cell. But before he left, John looked back at the defense attorneys and left them with one final sentence with a smirk shining proudly across his lips, "good luck."

The group of lawyers didn't really talk much as they silently walked back to the offices of M.M.N. Associates. The only sound that could be heard, besides the noisy city of New York, was the Mansfield woman tapped her fingers across her cell phone as she text messaged with her bodyguard and C.I.A. agent about looking into John Healy.

However, though, when the group of lawyers walked through the front door of their offices, that silence was soon interrupted as the Nelson man interrogated his fellow associates, "you wanna tell me what the hell's going on with you two?" Foggy shook his head in disbelief as he glanced between Matt and Amelia before he began with his ranting, "I mean, first you decide we're taking the case and then you cross-examine the guy like we're playing bad cop/worse cop."

"And you, Amelia!" The Nelson man practically exploded as he moved his brown irises over to the brunette woman. "You're supposed to be the level headed one," Foggy exclaimed before he pointed over to the Murdock man as he continued with his ranting about what happened today at the police station, "you were just as bad as Matt was in there. You're supposed to be the one to keep the peace between us."

Amelia released a small sigh as she stared across at her best friend before she stated, "I know this doesn't sound like the type of case that we should be taking on but we have to, Foggy." The Mansfield woman lightly shrugged her shoulders before she explained for the way that she acted today, "besides, I know this guy is bad news - that's why I was asking him those hard questions and pushing him." Amelia shot the Nelson man a pointed look before she added as she made her case to the frustrated Foggy, "you said it yourself. Something's not right with this whole deal and I wanna find out what it is before it destroys our firm and drags us into something bad."

The Murdock lawyer nodded his head in agreement as he commented, "Amelia's right." Matt looked into the direction of his male best friend before he added his two sense, "we need to be careful right now when we don't even know who we are dealing with." The Murdock man lightly shrugged his shoulders as he commented, "besides, if we want to keep the lights on, we gotta take some cases for the money and this is the perfect opportunity for us."

"But Amelia is loaded with money, though!" The Nelson man shouted as he pointed towards the aforementioned woman while he tried to talk his fellow associates into stepping away from this case. It gave Foggy the chills just thinking about how sketchy and unnatural the murder case was already becoming - starting with their easy-going client.

"I'm not your money bank, Franklin," the Mansfield woman mumbled as she rolled her green irises at the long haired man - even though she would give all the money in the world to her two best friends without even thinking twice about it. It was just the principle on the matter. Amelia stayed in Hell's Kitchen to make a difference instead of joining the Avengers' law firm or even the big opportunities that Tony had found for her in Manhattan, London, and Belgium. So, Amelia knew that she couldn't always be their source of money - they had to produce their own cash and taking shady cases was the way to start it.

"Sometimes, we have to do things we aren't proud of," the Murdock lawyer told his fellow associate as it show Foggy the reason why they needed to take this case - no matter Matt's hidden motives of wanting to take John Healy on as a client.

"Yeah, I know," Foggy mumbled with a hint of disappointment in his voice as he did understand both Matt and Amelia's goal here. The Nelson man pointed at his two best friends before he commanded with a slight shake of his head, "but this can't become what we do." Foggy absolutely hated that this was who they would become - taking on sketchy clients instead of the goods ones that just got dealt a bad hand.

"It won't," the Mansfield woman instantly promised the worried Nelson man as Amelia gave his lower arm a small squeeze along with a soft smile. "This is just a case to get us through the door of making actual money, Fog," Amelia added as she tried to convince the long haired man that this was something they needed to do.

"Alright," Foggy mumbled after a moment of glancing between his two best friends. The Nelson man then quickly pointed at the two lawyers as he commanded, "but we have to be on the same team, making decisions together -all three of us - for now on." Foggy absolutely hated how the interview went with their client - and it wasn't just because John Healy creeped him out. Foggy didn't like how he and Amelia were in a disagreement and how Matt just completely ignored his thoughts about taking the case.

Matt slowly nodded his head in agreement to the Nelson's man request for them to all work together for now on before the Murdock lawyer stated and apologized for his actions today, "I got carried away and I'm sorry, Foggy."

"We just need to work on our communication skills more," the Mansfield woman told her two best friends as she knew the interview had been a big mess. Amelia knew that she needed to be more in control like how she used to be when she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. or when she was a Marine. Amelia also knew that she needed to sharpen up her interrogation and persuasive skills along with being able to get a read on people better - all the things that she hadn't used in the last seven or so months since she stopped being an Avenger.

Amelia knew it had been stupid of her to think that she wouldn't ever have to run into bad guys in her line of work anymore. It was just a hopeless dream that the Mansfield woman craved from the world of villains and superheros.

The duo of the Murdock and Nelson lawyers both nodded their heads in agreement with their fellow associate in the Mansfield woman before Foggy held out his two fists with a wide grin proudly shining across his face. Matt and Amelia both chuckled at their best friend before they gave into the Nelson man as they bumped their fists together just like they used to do in Columbia Law School.

The trio of defense attorneys shared a small laugh together as they slowly made their way back into the conference room. The best friends then entered the room before the Murdock lawyer asked his two fellow associates their opinion on their new client's case involving the murder of a man at the local bowling alley, "so, what do we think?"

Foggy clapped his hands together as he got ready to get down and dirty before he began to tell the Murdock man and the Mansfield woman his thought process for their course of action, "okay, so assuming he's indicted, which, yeah, it's on the DA to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it wasn't self-defense." The Nelson lawyer lightly shrugged his shoulders before he added, "shoe girl's DD-5 says that she didn't come out of the back room until after the fight started - which helps us."

Amelia nodded her head in agreement with the Nelson man before she added why that would help them in court to prove their client was acting in self-defense, "Ms. Pierce wasn't there to actually witness what instigated the fighting between Mr. Healy and Mr. Prohaszka, so that definitely weighs the favor to our side at the moment."

The Murdock lawyer took a seat at the glass table before he looked in direction of the two other heartbeats in the room. "And what about Prohaszka's men?" Matt inquired since he knew both Amelia and Foggy had already done all the readings for their case when he had been running late.

The Mansfield woman shook her head with a heavy sigh as she leaned against the edge of the large glass table as she felt that she would go stir-crazy if she sat down at another table. "They are definitely a no-go," Amelia answered the Murdock man's question before she explained, "they all lawyered up the second that the police showed up last night."

Matt furrowed his brows as he listened to what the Mansfield woman had to say about the deceased victim's men that had been with him at the bowling alley. "Since when do the victims of an assault not give a statement?" The Murdock man inquired as that aspect didn't make a lick of sense to him.

Foggy carelessly shrugged his shoulders as he slumped down into the comfortable leather chair - thanks to Amelia's rich uncle - before the Nelson man practically cheered as if M.M.N. Associates had just won a prize, "it's another chit in our favor!"

"Also," Amelia began as she tried to remember everything that they learned from their interview today before she stated, "Healy is pretty much covered in bruises and blood." The Mansfield woman lightly crossed her arms over her sky blue blazer before she thought out loud, "we could use that and say they were all defensive wounds." Amelia shot her two fellow associates a wide grin before she commented, "it can't be a cold blooded murder if our guy was fighting back - like he said, he was defending himself."

Matt slowly nodded his head as he took in the new information about their newest case before he uttered as he went over their game plan for the courtroom tomorrow morning, "so, you open, Foggy, then Amelia - you got the important details, before I'll sum everything up." This was usually had it went with the three lawyers. It was what they did during law school when they would go through practice runs.

Once the Murdock man heard the quiet mumbles of agreement from his partners, Matt also mentioned, "and we should cash that check." The brunette lawyer stayed quiet for about a minute or so as he thought about their case before he added as he knew that they needed all the help that they could get right now, "we should have Karen see what she can find out about Confederated Global."

The Nelson man mumbled as he nodded his head, "right." However, though, when Foggy glanced around the conference room, he finally realized how silent M.M.N. Associates really was. "Where the hell is Karen, by the way?" The long haired man questioned with his brows furrowed as he looked outside of the windows in the conference room and over to where Karen should be sitting at the receptionist desk.

Amelia, who had been on her cell phone for the last few minutes, quickly made up an excuse as she waved her device in the air as she had just received a text message, but it wasn't from who they all thought, "I think she made a detour to the apartment after lunch." The Mansfield woman glanced down at her cell phone with a false look of confusion before she lied once more, "but she isn't answering my texts anymore." Amelia then looked back up to her two best friends before she volunteered, "I'll stop by the apartment and tell her we need her help."

The Murdock lawyer slowly nodded his head in agreement as he mumbled, "alright." Matt lightly leaned back in the leather rolling chair in the conference room before he told Amelia, "but make it quick. We really need to start preparing what we are going to say tomorrow for court as soon as possible."

The Mansfield woman straightened her body up instead of leaning against the glass table before she reached over and gave Matt's shoulder a light squeeze as she promised, "I will." Amelia then gave her two fellow associates a quick wave before she hurriedly dashed out of the conference room without letting on that she had business to attend to.

The Mansfield lawyer fast walked out of M.M.N. Associates before she quickly headed to the elevator to meet the person that she had been texting with. However, though, before Amelia could even press the button for the elevator, the silver doors opened with the one person that Amelia wanted to see was standing right in front of her. The brunette woman ignored the fact that they were supposed to meet in the lobby as she entered the elevator before she told her personal bodyguard, "I got your text."

Amelia waited until the two metal doors closed behind her so they could have some privacy before the Mansfield lawyer relaxed her body against the metal railing in the elevator. "So, what did you find out?" The brunette woman asked her bodyguard about what he found regarding M.M.N. Associates' client.

"Well, I haven't been at it very long, maybe twenty minutes or so," Joseph Russell, CIA agent and current bodyguard for Amelia Mansfield, muttered with a slight shrug of his shoulders before he stated as he pulled out a small tablet from the inside of his black suit, "but I did find something that I wanted to show you before I went any further." Joseph turned on the thin device and opened up the CIA server that he had been using as he explained, "I found out that your guy, John Healy, is a professional hit-man."

The Russell man moved to stand side by side with the brunette woman before he showed her an image of Mr. Healy shooting someone from two years ago that had been caught on a security camera. Joseph lightly shook his head before he stated as he explained what he found out about M.M.N. Associates' client, "he's nothing Military like you and I - just a lowlife, who got mixed into drugs at a young age and realized that killing is what makes the big bucks."

Amelia silently nodded her head as she grabbed the tablet and took a more closer look at the images that the Russell man had pulled up before she handed him back the device - that Amelia soon realized was one of Tony's electronics from his signature Stark Industries logo on the top of the screen.

"Did you find out who he's working for yet?" The Mansfield woman inquired after a moment of silence settled in the elevator as she watched as Joseph began to type something into the Stark tablet.

Joseph shook his head before he stated, "I haven't found which corporation that he's working with or even if he's just a self-employed hit-man." The Russell man looked up at Amelia with a roll of his brown eyes before he mentioned from his own experience, "but you know how that goes with those dark web corporations and all their red tape."

Amelia released a humorous chuckle as she muttered in amusement, "oh, yes, I do." The Mansfield woman instantly remembered her time working with a corporation called the Serpent OP when she was in between missions for her father during that a year before Tony helped her escape that life. Amelia remembered all the documents and politics that they made her go through so it wouldn't come back and bite them in the ass. That was one job that Amelia always hated when she was involved with her father's business. It was just too much trouble when the pay wasn't even that good.

"Well, there was one name that kept popping up every time I looked into Healy's track record," the Russell man continued where he left off as he clicked onto a new website. "I haven't had the chance to really look into the guy yet, though," Joseph mentioned as he tried to find the information that he had found a few minutes ago.

Amelia's interest instantly perked up at the knowledge that there was someone extremely connected to M.M.N. Associates' client. "Who is it?" The Mansfield woman questioned as she lazily crossed her arms over her sky blue blazer.

Joseph silently nodded his head to himself when he finally found the information that he was looking for before he informed the Mansfield woman, "a Mr. James Wesley."

The Mansfield woman furrowed her brows while she stared down at her white heels as she tried to think if she knew anyone with that name. However, when Amelia came up empty, the brunette woman looked back up to Joseph before she wondered, "you got a picture of him?"

The Russell man, once again, nodded his head as he clicked onto another link that was right underneath James Wesley's name before he handed the tablet over to Amelia. "I barely just started my research on him, so I don't know anything about Wesley - except for his name," Joseph stated as he watched as the brunette woman examined the image.

"Bingo," the Mansfield lawyer uttered with a wide smirk immediately pulled onto her face when she saw that it was her mysterious man. "This is the guy that hired us this morning," Amelia explained to the Russell man as she pointed at the image of the man in the glasses. The brunette woman handed the Stark device back over to Joseph before she ordered, "I need you to find everything that you can on this guy. I wanna know who he's working for."

The Russell man silently stored the thin tablet back into the inside pocket of his black suit before he looked up at Amelia with an identical wide smirk. "You got it, boss," the CIA agent exclaimed as he teasingly tipped his invisible hat to the brunette woman.

The Mansfield woman shook her head in amusement at her bodyguard before she forcefully pushed Joseph out of the elevator once it stopped at the ground floor. "Just get it done," Amelia mumbled as she playfully rolled her green eyes at the chuckling man before the duo headed towards Joseph's old school car.

The Mansfield lawyer was quite glad that she was one step closer in understanding what the mysterious man, or James Wesley, really wanted with M.M.N. Associates - thanks to her new trusty side-kick in Joseph Russell. It made Amelia feel like they were finally leveled out since she now knew his name and she was one step closer in finding out who he worked for. Amelia knew that once she knew who James Wesley was working for then she would be able to find out how the man knew about her secrets with the Avengers along with her past life in Long Island and she would be able to shut him down for good before he ruined her normal life in Hell's Kitchen.


	10. Goodbye

_For the past few years, I've been just letting life past me by._

 _I haven't been happy with my life as a twenty-two year old but that all changes in 2020._

 _This year, I'm going to be selfish._

 _I'm going to focus on me._

 _I'm going to focus on finally getting my drivers license._

 _I'm going to focus on getting a job._

 _I'm going to focus on getting my GED and starting college._

 _I'm going to focus on my health and get to the point where I am happy with my body._

 _So, as of right now, I'm going to be taking a writing hiatus. I want to thank everyone who has ever even read a sentence of work. It means a lot to have someone who enjoyed my writing._

 _I promise to be back one day, but until we say each other again._

 _Goodbye_

 _xoxo Emily_


End file.
